Beijing dismantles testing booths as China fine-tunes Covid-19 policy

Cities are loosening travel and quarantine rules, taking more targeted approach

SHANGHAI Beijing residents on Saturday cheered the removal of Covid-19 testing booths, while Shenzhen said it would no longer require commuters to present test results to travel, as an easing of China’s coronavirus curbs gathered pace.

Although daily cases are near all-time highs, some cities are taking steps to loosen testing requirements and quarantine rules as China looks to make _ its zero-Covid-19 policy more targeted amid a sharp economic slowdown and public frustration that has boiled over into unrest.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a meeting with European officials in Beijing last Thursday, blamed the recent mass protests in Chinese cities on young people frustrated by years of the pandemic, but said the now-dominant Omicron variant of the virus had paved the way for fewer restrictions.

The southern city of Shenzhen announced it would no longer require people to show a negative test result to use public transport or enter parks, following similar moves by Chengdu and Tianjin.

Many testing booths in Beijing have been shut as the capital stopped demanding negative test results as a condition to enter places such as supermarkets. It is preparing to do so for subways, too, from Monday. But many other venues, including offices, still require testing.