Despite the high number of infections and following fervent protests in various parts of the country specifically against the government’s “zero COVID” policy, the Chinese authorities have partially lifted the restrictions against the coronavirus imposed in various areas of the cities of Canton and Zhengzhou.

According to local authorities, who have mentioned an impending relaxation of lockdowns, some areas of Canton, a city in the south of the country, may benefit from the lifting of some of the most restrictive measures against COVID-19.

According to Zhang Yi, deputy head of the Guangdong health commission, “the lockdowns, if created, must be released promptly and must come to an end when necessary to minimize the difficulty caused to the community.”

The authorities have now started to give in to the mounting unrest that has developed in response to the fire that broke out last week in the northwest Chinese region of Xinjiang, where ten people died as a result of the firefighters’ tardy response due to sanitary control measures.

The city, which has 19 million residents, will only test those who have had close contact with an infected person and stop performing these tests in bulk as they have been doing up until now as the protests against this government policy gain momentum.

All regions in Baiyun, Liwan, and Panyu counties that were previously subject to “temporary control measures” have been deemed to be “low risk,” according to Zhang. Lockdown procedures have been in place for Baiyun residents since November 21.

Authorities have emphasized that the easing of restrictions does not, however, mean that preventive measures against the coronavirus should be abandoned, and have urged locals to continue using masks and avoiding large concentrations of people.

Following a meeting of the working group on COVID-19 at the provincial level, it was decided to partially lift some of these restrictions. Wang Weizhong, the governor of Guangzhou, has emphasized the significance of relaxing the restrictions “At the proper time” and has come to endorse local isolation measures (house to house) to lessen the impact of the outbreak rather than implementing countrywide lockdowns.

THE ZHENGZHOU CASE

The authorities in Zhengzhou, where Apple’s phone assembly factory is located, are also thinking about removing some of the current regulations, particularly those that do with confinement.

A list of the households with the highest risk of spreading the disease was released by local authorities, who had previously stated that they would waive these restrictions in their major urban districts as the number of cases rose.

This most recent decision was made in response to considerable complaints against the Chinese health authorities’ request that local governments avoid imposing significant limits on efforts to contain the infection.

According to a statement from the authorities, the city will replace its well-known “movement controls,” the ‘de facto’ confinement that controls the city, beginning of this Wednesday with “routine measures against COVID-19”. As a result, businesses will be free to carry on as usual, and residents of the areas with the highest danger will be exempt from testing so long as they stay in their houses.

To limit the spread, Beijing has instructed local officials to follow a new “route time,” a document in which it cautions against the risks of conducting mass tests and extending the confinements.

Early in November, Apple found itself in the awkward situation of having to inform customers that the impact of the limitations put in place to contain COVID-19 in the Asian giant would result in longer wait times for new iPhone models.

As tensions with the enterprise, which is situated in the city’s high-risk area for contagion, have risen since then, Zhengzhou has attempted to tighten these limitations. After nearly a month of stringent limitations that have substantially impeded operations, the plant has voiced its displeasure.

Canton is one of the worst impacted provinces in China, where more than 37,600 infections have been recorded in the past day. But people still criticize the tight restrictions and call for more freedom on the streets.