EXPLAINER: China announced a potentially major easing of its rigid “zero-COVID' restrictions. But it didn't abandon the policy altogether. The move follows the widest-spread protests against the ruling Communist Party in more than 30 years.
Health codes will still be required for “special places,” including schools, hospitals and nursing homes. That leaves considerable ambiguity. Restaurants in Shanghai and Beijing were still requiring a negative test within the last 48 hours for indoor dining Thursday.
Restrictions on the sale of cold and cough medicine are also being lifted. During the height of the pandemic, such over-the-counter medications could only be purchased through a lengthy application process. While never clearly explained, the rules were thought to be aimed at those trying to cover up COVID-19 symptoms to avoid being tested and sent to quarantine.
But the new requirements don’t address is international travel. China’s borders remain largely closed while the rest of the world opens up, although it did reduce the quarantine time for international arrivals from seven to five days at a designated location, followed by three days of isolation at their place of residence.
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