People with non-severe Covid cases can isolate at home instead of centralized government facilities

China announced Wednesday a nationwide loosening of Covid restrictions following protests against the hardline strategy that grew into calls for greater political freedoms.

Anger over China's zero-Covid policy - which involved mass lockdowns, constant testing and quarantines even for people who are not infected - stoked unrest not seen since the 1989 pro-democracy protests. Under the new guidelines announced by the National Health Commission, the frequency and scope of PCR testing - long a tedious mainstay of life in zero-Covid China - will be reduced.

Lockdowns will also be scaled down and people with non-severe Covid cases can isolate at home instead of centralized government facilities. And people will no longer be required to show a green health code on their phone to enter public buildings and spaces, except for “nursing homes, medical institutions, kindergartens, middle and high schools."... Read More: i24