Your Thursday briefing: China eases Covid restrictions

In addition, the Peruvian president is ousted and Germany arrests 25 people suspected of plotting a coup.
ImageAn elderly couple in Beijing.Credit...Wu Hao/EPA , via Shutterstock
China eases 'zero Covid' restrictions
The Chinese government announced a rollback of the country's tough coronavirus restrictions, a major pivot in a policy on which President Xi Jinping had staked his legitimacy.

The move is an implicit concession to public discontent after massive street protests against Covid restrictions gripped China. Protesters were livid over the shutdowns that confined hundreds of millions of people to their homes for weeks and dragged down the economy. They also disliked the seemingly arbitrary way the restrictions were applied.
The Chinese Communist Party appears to be trying to save face without acknowledging that widespread opposition has forced Xi's hand. . The pushback could appease protesters, but China is set to face a surge of infections as people return to normal life. Experts have warned that China needs to step up its pace of vaccinations, especially for the elderly.
Data: Only two-thirds of people aged 80 and over are vaccinated, compared with 90% of the general population, and only 40% received a booster dose.
Changes: P.C.R. tests and health codes will be

World Dec 8, 2022 0 82 Add to Reading List

Your Thursday briefing: China eases Covid restrictions

In addition, the Peruvian president is ousted and Germany arrests 25 people suspected of plotting a coup.

Two people wearing cold weather gear and face masks walk past a vaccination site .

China eases 'zero Covid' restrictions

The Chinese government announced a rollback of the country's tough coronavirus restrictions, a major pivot in a policy on which President Xi Jinping had staked his legitimacy.

The move is an implicit concession to public discontent after massive street protests against Covid restrictions gripped China. Protesters were livid over the shutdowns that confined hundreds of millions of people to their homes for weeks and dragged down the economy. They also disliked the seemingly arbitrary way the restrictions were applied.

The Chinese Communist Party appears to be trying to save face without acknowledging that widespread opposition has forced Xi's hand. . The pushback could appease protesters, but China is set to face a surge of infections as people return to normal life. Experts have warned that China needs to step up its pace of vaccinations, especially for the elderly.

Data: Only two-thirds of people aged 80 and over are vaccinated, compared with 90% of the general population, and only 40% received a booster dose.

Changes: P.C.R. tests and health codes will be