china

China's National Health Commission is scaling down its daily COVID-19 report starting Wednesday after a sharp decline in PCR testing even though daily cases are hitting record highs.

The smart phone app that recorded a person's travel between cities and provinces was to be disabled. Another app used to restrict the movement of those who test positive or enter an area with a recent outbreak remains in effect.

Social media users are reporting a rash of COVID-19 cases in schools and businesses across China after the ruling Communist Party loosened anti-virus rules as it tries to reverse a deepening economic slump.

China has announced a series of measures rolling back some of its restrictive anti-COVID-19 restrictions, including limiting the scale of lockdown to individual apartment floors and buildings.

Commuters in Beijing and other cities are allowed to board buses and subways without a virus test for the first time in months, and the government announced plans to vaccinate millions of elderly people. That spurred hopes for quick reopening of the country.

For nearly three years, China has enforced incredibly strict rules to keep coronavirus transmission in check. But now they're facing a potentially deadly omicron surge.

Extraordinary street protests in some Chinese cities and campuses over the weekend put Xi Jinping's controversial approach to the pandemic under the spotlight.

Chinese universities are sending students home as the ruling Communist Party tightens anti-virus controls and tries to prevent more protests by crowds angered by its severe "zero COVID" restrictions.

The government made no comment on the protests or criticism of President Xi Jinping but said it was easing some of the restrictions in an apparent attempt to quell the demonstrations.

China doesn’t have a mandate but wants more people to get boosters before it relaxes strict restrictions that are holding back the economy and are increasingly out of synch with the rest of the world.