Zero Covid

China scraps visa-free transit for South Koreans, Japanese over COVID curbs

South Korea and Japan have in recent weeks imposed fresh travel requirements on all visitors from China, as the world's most populous country battles a surge in COVID cases

'Total mess' in China's rural east as COVID-19 wave hits hard

Since China reversed its zero-Covid policy last month, a whirlwind of cases has crammed hospitals with elderly patients and sparked a free-for-all over limited supplies of medicine

How Chinese celebrity deaths expose its big lie about COVID toll

While China has announced only 22 COVID deaths since December – and 5,259 deaths overall, one of the lowest tolls in the world – experts have accused Beijing of downplaying the severity of the situation. Now, high-profile deaths are causing Chinese social media users to question the state narrative

China: 70% of Shanghai residents may be Covid-19 positive, says top doctor

Covid-19 infections spiked across China last month after years of draconian Zero Covid restrictions with little warning or preparation and quickly filled hospitals and cremation grounds

More countries roll out checks for travellers from China amid COVID-19 surge

As COVID-19 overwhelms Chinese hospitals and crematoriums, officials have insisted that the wave is 'under control' despite acknowledging that the true scale of infections is 'impossible' to track

'Light of hope is right in front of us': Xi Jinping on COVID-19

Authorities have announced they will end mandatory quarantine on arrival for people entering China from 8 January and allow Chinese people to travel abroad, after three years of frustration

Hong Kong scraps vaccine pass, Covid-19 tests for travellers

For most of the pandemic, Hong Kong has aligned itself with China’s ‘zero-COVID’ strategy, requiring stringent Covid-19 tests and isolation for close contacts of infected cases as well as for incoming travellers

China to end quarantine on arrival in fresh COVID rule relaxation

Since March 2020, all passengers arriving in China have had to undergo mandatory centralised quarantine. This decreased from three weeks to one week this summer and to five days last month

China's propaganda machine at work to spin zero-Covid reversal as victory amid rising cases

For years, the country's propaganda apparatus hailed zero-Covid as proof of the wisdom of powerful President Xi Jinping. But now its usual mouthpieces have been left to spin the decision to scrap strict travel curbs, quarantines, and snap lockdowns as a victory even as cases soar

Chinese city seeing half a million new COVID-19 infections every day, reveals health official

China this month has rapidly dismantled key pillars of its zero-Covid strategy, doing away with snap lockdowns, lengthy quarantines, and travel curbs in a jarring reversal of its hallmark containment strategy