China has suspended or closed the social media accounts of more than 1,000 critics of the government’s COVID-19 policies, as the country moves to override harsh antivirus restrictions.
Popular social media platform Sina Weibo said it addressed 12,854 violations, including attacks on experts, academics and medical workers and issued temporary or permanent bans on 1,120 accounts, the Associated news agency reported. Press.
The ruling Communist Party had relied heavily on the medical community to justify its strict lockdowns, quarantine measures and mass testing, much of which was abruptly scrapped last month, leading to an increase in new cases that have pushed medical resources to their limits.
The company “will continue to increase investigation and cleanup of all kinds of illegal content, and create a harmonious and friendly community environment for the majority of users,” Sina Weibo said in a statement Thursday, as quoted by the AP.
Criticism has largely focused on tough enforcement of regulations, including indefinite travel restrictions that have seen people confined to their homes for weeks, sometimes locked inside without adequate food or medical care.
There was also anger at the requirement that anyone who potentially tested positive or had been in contact with such a person be confined for observation in a field hospital, where overcrowding, poor food and hygiene have been quoted.
Amid rising social and economic costs, there have been rare street protests in Beijing and other cities.
Under the latest changes, China will also no longer bring criminal charges against those accused of violating border quarantine rules, according to a notice issued Saturday by five government departments.
Those currently detained will be released and seized property returned, the notice said.
The adjustments “were made after thoroughly considering the harm of the behaviors to society and with the aim of adapting to new epidemic prevention and control situations,” the official China Gazette website reported. Daily.
China is facing an increase in cases and hospitalizations in major cities and could see further spread in other parts of the country with the start of the Lunar New Year travel rush, which is expected to begin in the coming days. . The holiday, which officially runs from January 21, will be the first since 2020 without domestic travel restrictions.
While international flights are still curtailed, authorities expect domestic train and air journeys to double from the same period last year, bringing overall numbers close to those of the holiday season from 2019 before the pandemic hit.
The Department for Transport on Friday called on travelers to reduce travel and gatherings, especially if they involve the elderly, pregnant women, small children and people with underlying illnesses.
People using public transport are also advised to wear masks and pay close attention to their health and personal hygiene, Vice Minister Xu Chengguang told reporters at a press briefing.
Nonetheless, China is moving forward with a plan to end mandatory quarantines for people arriving from overseas on Sunday.
Beijing also plans to scrap the requirement for students in city schools to have a negative COVID-19 test to enter campus when classes resume Feb. 13 after the holidays. While schools will be allowed to move classes online in the event of further outbreaks, they must resume in-person instruction as soon as possible, the city’s education office said in a statement Friday.
However, the end of mass testing, a very limited amount of basic data such as the number of deaths, infections and severe cases, and the potential emergence of new variants have prompted governments elsewhere to institute testing requirements. virus test for travelers from China.
More than a dozen countries have imposed new travel regulations on travelers from China.
This week, European Union experts “strongly encouraged” the bloc’s 27 member states to require COVID tests for passengers on flights from China and to carry out random tests on arrival.
Several EU countries – including Germany, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – have already announced COVID testing requirements for travelers from the Asian nation.
The United States and Japan are among the non-European countries to have implemented similar measures.
China has said testing requirements imposed by foreign governments are not based on science and threatened unspecified countermeasures.
The World Health Organization has also express concern on the lack of data from China. Chinese health officials publish a daily tally of new cases, severe cases, and deaths, but these numbers only include officially confirmed cases and use a very narrow definition of COVID-related deaths.
Authorities say that since the government ended mandatory testing and allowed people with mild symptoms to test themselves and recover at home, it can no longer provide a full picture of the state of the latest epidemic.
On Saturday, the National Health Commission reported 10,681 new nationwide cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 482,057. Three deaths were also reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 5. 267.
The numbers are well below estimates published by some local governments. Zhejiang, a province on the east coast, said on Tuesday it was seeing around one million new cases a day.
Beijing officials said the situation was under control and dismissed accusations of unpreparedness to reopen.
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