Beijing: China eases Kovid restrictions on Shanghai, China’s main city. The government yesterday approved a number of lock-down exemptions that allow people to go out and open businesses. Health official Wu Ganyu told a news conference that the spread of Kovid in the city was under control and that was why the concessions were being announced.
The complete lockdown was announced on March 28 following an increase in Kovid cases in Shanghai. Failure to ease the lockdown, which has been going on for weeks, has drawn widespread criticism. Several countries have come out to criticize China’s Zero Kovid policy after a video of city dwellers isolated in apartments for days went viral on social media.
Wu Ganyu said that Kovid continues to transfer positive and those who come in contact with them to isolation centers. Economists say Kovid’s easing of restrictions is because the lockdown has hit China’s economy hard. Figures released in the first week of this month indicate that China’s economy has slowed in the first three months of this year compared to the last months of 2021.