Protests broke out in Xinjiang, China, over the country's draconian lockdown measures after they contributed to a deadly fire that killed 10.
The fire broke out on a residential block's 15th floor on Thursday night, spreading upward through the building for three hours before being put out, the BBC reported. Nine more people were injured in the blaze. The high casualty numbers are suspected to have been made worse due to strict lockdown measures, which has resulted in uproar from a populace increasingly bitter over the Chinese Communist Party's strict"zero COVID" policy.
Protests broke out shortly thereafter, with one video showing a deputy Communist Party chief being surrounded by locals demanding an end to the lockdowns. “It took me five days to recover from COVID,” one woman yelled at the official. “This is enough to go through 20 COVID infections.”China's"zero COVID" policy has created a strain on the country's economy, as well as its urban population, leading the World Health Organization to call on Chinese officials to change course. The Chinese Communist Party has rejected the calls but has urged regional officials to implement more targeted measures that are less disruptive.
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