by BEIJING (AP) — Some Chinese universities say they will allow students to finish the semester from home in hopes of reducing the potential for a larger COVID-19 outbreak during January’s Lunar New Year travel rush.
It was unclear how many schools were participating, but universities in Shanghai and nearby cities said students would be given the option to go home early or stay on campus and take tests every 48 hours. The Lunar New Year, which falls on January 22 this year, is traditionally China’s busiest travel season.
Universities have been the scene of frequent lockdowns over the past three years, occasionally leading to clashes between the authorities and students confined to campus or even to their dormitories.
Tuesday’s announcements came as China begins to ease its strict “zero-COVID” policy.allowing people with mild symptoms to stay at home rather than being sent to a quarantine centre, among other changes that followed widespread protests.
As of Tuesday, China stopped tracking some travel, potentially reducing the likelihood of people being forced into quarantine for visiting COVID-19 hotspots. Despite this, China’s international borders remain largely closed and it is unknown when restrictions on incoming travelers and Chinese people wishing to travel abroad will be eased.
The move follows the government’s dramatic announcement last week that it would end many of the tougher measuresafter three years of enforcing some of the toughest virus restrictions in the world.
Last month in Beijing and several other cities, protests over the restrictions turned into calls for the resignation of leader Xi Jinping and the Communist Party, a level of public dissent not seen in decades.
While welcomed with relief, the relaxation has also sparked concerns about a new wave of infections potentially overwhelming healthcare resources in some areas.
With so many people left at home, the streets of central Beijing were eerily quiet on Tuesday. Small queues have formed outside fever clinics – the number of which was recently increased from 94 to 303 – and at pharmacies, where cold and flu medicines have become harder to find.
Many mainland Chinese residents have started ordering drugs from pharmacies in Hong Kong, which has already eased many restrictions.
The government of the semi-autonomous southern city went a step further on Tuesday, saying it would lift restrictions on incoming travelers that currently prevent them from dining in restaurants or going to bars for the first three days.
It would also eliminate the use of its contact tracing app, although vaccine requirements for entering places like restaurants will remain. Those traveling from Hong Kong to mainland China and Macau will no longer need to undergo a PCR test at border checkpoints, although they still face several days of quarantine on the mainland side. The new measures will take effect on Wednesday.
According to the city’s health minister, Hong Kong will gradually reduce PCR testing, including mandatory screening notices issued to residential buildings, and more rapid testing kits will be distributed in the community.
The easing of mainland control measures means a steep drop in mandatory testing from which daily infection numbers are compiled, but cases appear to be rising rapidly, with many testing at home and staying away from hospitals.
China reported 7,451 new infections on Monday, bringing the nation’s total to 372,763, more than double from Oct. 1. It recorded 5,235 deaths, compared to 1.1 million in the United States.
The figures provided by the Chinese government have not been independently verified and questions have been raised about whether the ruling Communist Party has been trying to minimize the number of cases and deaths.
US consulates in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang and the central city of Wuhan will only offer emergency services from Tuesday “in response to the surging number of COVID-19 cases,” the State Department said.
“Mission China is making every effort to ensure that comprehensive consular services are available to US citizens living in the PRC, but further disruptions are possible,” said an email message, using the initials of China’s official name, the People’s Republic Chinese.
Xi’s government is still officially committed to stopping the transmission of the virus, the latest major country to try. But the latest moves suggest the party will tolerate more cases without quarantines or shutting down travel or businesses as it concludes its “zero-COVID” strategy.
Amid unpredictable messages from Beijing, experts warn there is still a chance the ruling party could reverse course and reimpose restrictions in the event of a large-scale outbreak.
The policy change comes after protests erupted on Nov. 25 after 10 people died in a fire in the northwestern city of Urumqi. Many have wondered if COVID-19 restrictions have hampered relief efforts. Authorities have denied the claims circulated online, but protesters have voiced long-standing frustration in cities such as Shanghai that have experienced severe lockdowns.
The party responded with a massive show of force and an unknown number of people were arrested during the protests or in the days after.
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Associated Press writers Zen Soo and Kanis Leung of Hong Kong contributed to this report.
