Despite the strict rules to curb the Covid-19 infection, numbers of infected are hitting new records, and protests spread, reports Reuters.
Protests started after ten people died in a residential building fire in the western China city of Urumqi. It is supposed that rescuers didn’t get to the place of the incident fast enough because of lockdown and restrictions. However, on the 28th of November, it is reported that protesters are asking not only to lift the «zero covid» policy but also to protest against the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping. It is the first time in his presidency that suck large protests have erupted.
The protests are mostly peaceful, but the tensions grow. From Shanghai, there are reports about arrested protesters, and police reportedly abused BBC journalist.
While authorities are trying to press down the protests and China’s censors remove videos and photos with protests from the media, China’s stocks dropped dramatically in the market. Investors stress the influence the «zero covid» policy and protests left on the country’s economy. Hopes were high that China will open up, but rising Covid-19 numbers shattered them.
Experts say that country will open at the earliest in March or April. Meanwhile, China needs to work on vaccination with safe and effective vaccines. China doesn’t use Western vaccines, but the ones that are created in China aren’t effective enough against the Omicron strain of the virus.
Read also: Beijing experiences rise of Covid-19 cases and closes museums