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Tens of millions of people are living under some kind of restriction in China
protests are happening in china because of the strict isolation and lockdown measures imposed by the government with its “covid zero” policy.
Protesters demand that the rules be relaxed, despite the increase in cases in the country.
In recent months, lockdowns have occurred in several cities, including Shenzhen, a city of 17.5 million people and a technology hub, and Shanghai, a city of 26 million that is an industrial, commercial and financial hub.
Tens of millions of people are living under some kind of restriction. Some rules, however, have been relaxed.
Isolation is now for 8 days, instead of 10 – 5 in the isolation center and 3 at home.
China is also allowing international arrivals with less stringent quarantine rules for the first time since March 2022.
How are the lockdown rules in China?
China has one of the strictest Covid-fighting protocols in the world. Measures include:
- Local authorities must enforce strict lockdowns – even if only a few cases of covid are found;
- Mass testing is carried out in places where cases have been reported;
- People with covid are isolated at home or quarantined in government facilities;
- Businesses and schools are closed in lockdown areas;
- Shops must also close – except for those selling food;
- Lockdowns last until no new infections are found.
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China has a mass testing program for diagnosis of covid
How many cases of covid are there in China?
Recently, China had its first spike in Covid-19 deaths in six months, with 320 dead in the last month, according to Johns Hopkins University.
On Monday, the country registered 40,052 new cases of covid. The previous peak was in April.
New infections have been reported across China. Guangdong Province, in the south, was the worst affected region.
But the total number of infections and deaths remains very low compared to other parts of the world.
What vaccines is China using?
Only about half of people in China aged 80 and older have received their first vaccines.
Less than 60% of people aged 60 to 69 are fully vaccinated.
The elderly are at greater risk and the government has encouraged this population to get vaccinated.
It remains unclear how effective it is against the omicron variant of the main vaccines used in China – and that is the most widespread strain of the coronavirus today.
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The World Health Organization advises China to change its method of dealing with covid
Western countries have offered China more effective vaccines, but China has refused to use them widely.
The government has not given any official explanation. However, some people feel that China’s government is afraid to admit that it has failed to develop adequate omicron vaccines on its own.
The World Health Organization recommended that China change its method of dealing with covid.
However, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the “covid zero” policy is “scientific and effective”.
China is following a policy it calls “dynamic zero” – taking action whenever the coronavirus emerges to eradicate it.
China’s government says this saves lives because uncontrolled outbreaks would put many vulnerable people at risk, including the elderly.
The strict lockdowns have contributed to the death toll in China remaining relatively low since the beginning of the pandemic – the official number is just over 5,200, but Johns Hopkins University reports 15,000 deaths.
But even considering the university’s number, the number of deaths per million in China is still much lower than in countries like the US, UK or Brazil.
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