China: In Beijing and other Chinese cities, businesses reopened and testing requirements were lifted as the nation cautiously eases out of a stringent zero-COVID policy that caused widespread protests. The central Government’s directives for a new strategy to combat the coronavirus have pushed local authorities across China to slowly relax the restrictions that have governed daily life for years.

In the capital Beijing, where many enterprises have fully resumed business, commuters are no longer required to show a result of a virus test that was conducted before.  The same regulations applied to financial hub Shanghai, which this year saw a severe two-month lockdown, allowing locals access to outdoor spaces including parks and tourist destinations without a recent test.

Neighbouring Hangzhou went a step further, stopping regular mass testing for its 10 million residents except for those who attended or resided in elderly homes, schools, and kindergartens.

The city of more than four million in the far-western Xinjiang region endured one of China’s longest lockdowns, with some areas shut from August until November, as per the reports.

Authorities in Shandong and Wuhan, where the Coronavirus was initially discovered in late 2019, removed the necessity for testing for public transportation. The World Health Organization has praised China’s easing of its zero-COVID policy, which came after hundreds took to the streets across the country to call for greater political freedoms and an end to lockdowns.

According to the reports, while some COVID-19 rules have been relaxed, China’s vast security apparatus has moved swiftly to smother further rallies, boosting online censorship and surveillance of the population.

WORLD ROUNDUP: Chinese astronauts return to earth after successful six-month mission