China on Wednesday announced the most sweeping changes to its resolute anti-COVID regime since the pandemic began three years ago, loosening rules that curbed the spread of the virus but sparked protests and hobbled the world's second-largest economy.
The relaxation of rules, which includes allowing infected people with mild symptoms to quarantine at home and dropping testing for people travelling domestically, is the clearest sign yet Beijing is pivoting away from its zero-COVID policy to let people live with the disease.
But health officials are still warning that trends in deaths will be closely watched in case a return to tougher measures is needed.
Many of the changes announced by the National Health Commission (NHC) reflected steps already taken in various cities and regions in recent days, following protests against COVID controls that were the biggest demonstration of public discontent since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012.
Citizens cheered the prospect of a shift that could see China slowly emerging back into the world three years after the virus was first identified in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019.
Wednesday's announcement soared to the top most viewed topic on China's Weibo platform, with many hoping for normality after policies that have brought mental suffering to tens of millions.
"It's time for our lives to return to normal, and for China to return to the world," wrote one Weibo user.
For nearly three years, China has managed COVID as a disease on par with bubonic plague and cholera and as cases spread earlier this year, whole communities were locked down, sometimes for months.
Dozens of people also flocked to the Weibo account of Li Wenliang, a doctor in Wuhan who died in 2020 after sounding an early alarm about COVID-19 and whose last post has been an online haven for those looking to vent about personal woes and public policies.
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