Tensions have been building in the southern city, which is experiencing one of the worst cases of COVID since the start of the pandemic, and on Monday they reached a tipping point. Dramatic footage shared online showed groups of people overturning a police vehicle and knocking over fences in the Haizhu district as they confront blue-clad health workers. Image: A police vehicle was overturned by protesters in the city’s Haizhu district Chinese media reported that protesters had gathered in the area to demonstrate against the city’s COVID measures. The region has been placed under strict stay-at-home measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, with Guangzhou recording more than 5,000 new cases in a day. People have been told to visit their nearest testing station, but otherwise stay indoors, the district government announced on its social media account. Across the region, residents have also been told that only one member from each household is allowed to go out to buy food. Read more:Inhaled COVID vaccine testedHave the rules for COVID changed too soon? Image: The COVID crackdown has seen communities confined to their homes and areas locked down What is the zero COVID policy? China’s ruling party has called for strict adherence to the “zero COVID-19” policy across the country. The strategy has seen millions of residents confined to their homes, subject to mass testing programs and enduring sudden lockdowns in areas where cases or close contacts have been identified. The number of COVID cases recorded in the country remains low by global standards, but some worry that harsh restrictions are hampering the economy and putting China out of sync with the rest of the world. Image: Protests took place in Guangzhou, China What is the situation across the country? On Saturday, health officials announced they would modify virus checks, but that didn’t mean they were ending. Under the changes, some foreign businessmen and athletes visiting China will be allowed to move into a restricted area without quarantine, and rules on who is considered contact with infected people are to be narrowed down, reducing the number of people infected. Image: Tensions have been building for days over the country’s zero-covid-19 policy “This is not relaxation, nor ‘lying down’, but more precise and scientific prevention and treatment,” said the deputy director of the country’s National Health Commission, Lei Haichao, adding that the goal is “to prevent the epidemic and minimize the impact on economic and social development”. Economists and public health experts say China’s capital, Beijing, may be able to begin lifting its COVID rules in mid-2023, but it needs to vaccinate tens of millions of elderly people before the end of checks on foreign visitors. Click to subscribe to Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts Across the country, people who want to enter supermarkets and other public buildings must show negative results of a virus test taken as often as once a day. In the southwest, the industrial city of Chongqing closed schools in the Beibei district, which has 840,000 people. Residents were also barred from leaving a number of apartment complexes in the Yubei district, but authorities gave no indication of how many were affected.
