Beijing:
People with Covid-19 symptoms in one of China’s largest cities can now go to work “as usual”, state media reported Monday, a dramatic turnaround in a country where a single case could previously put thousands of people in lockdown.
The world’s most populous country is ending years of hardline coronavirus policies, with Covid spreading rapidly in the wake of the official end of mass lockdowns, testing and quarantines.
And with authorities admitting the outbreak is “impossible” to track, the southern megacity of Chongqing — home to about 32 million people — became one of the first parts of China where people could work normally even with visible symptoms, reported the Chongqing Daily. Monday, citing a message from the municipality.
The message, released on Sunday, said “mildly symptomatic” government, party and state workers “can work normally after taking personal protection in accordance with their physical conditions and needs of their work”.
It also urged residents not to “unnecessarily” take virus tests or force people to show a negative result, with exceptions for certain facilities such as care homes, schools and prisons.
Local governments across China have generally encouraged people to self-isolate at home while recovering from the disease — a dramatic shift from previous policies of moving people to state quarantine facilities.
On Sunday, the eastern province of Zhejiang – a major economic center of more than 60 million people – said people with mild symptoms “can continue to work if necessary, provided they take personal protective equipment”.
Authorities are standing their ground despite evidence that some hospitals and crematoriums are grappling with spikes in cases and deaths, as well as fears of a wave of infections in underdeveloped rural areas over the upcoming holiday season.
Visits to hospitals and clinics increased in the days following China’s lifting of restrictions, though the World Health Organization said the virus was already spreading widely in the country because “control measures alone did not stop the disease”.
Cities and provinces across China have been forced to adapt their public health offerings as the country learns to live with the virus for the first time.
In the eastern city of Suzhou, authorities hastily converted test sites into makeshift fever treatment stations, according to state media.
Other cities, including the capital Beijing, have distributed free medical kits to some residents and urged patients to choose online consultations instead of visiting hospitals, state media reported.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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