THE CHINESE government on Saturday announced the release of people detained over a series of coronavirus-related incidents. This government order comes just one day before Beijing plans to repeal its three-year-old zero-Covid rules.
Amid a massive Covid outbreak, the country will end its international isolation at 12 a.m. on Sunday. It will also result in the full opening of its airports and ports for travel and trade.
After the restrictions are relaxed, international travellers can arrive in China without nucleic acid tests and quarantine restrictions.
China is grappling with a sudden surge in coronavirus cases caused by the Omicron variants. Last month, the government relaxed its stringent "zero-Covid" policy amid massive anti-government protests.
According to the officials, the Omicron variant is not as lethal as the Delta, which caused massive fatalities all over the world. The Chinese government has also announced the release of the people detained for Covid-related cases. According to the notice by the government, any property that had been seized should be released, while quarantine and control measures at the state borders will also no longer be criminalised.
The order has also asked local courts, police, and customs to "fully and accurately implement the criminal policy of leniency and severity" in accordance with the law, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
The country witnessed massive protests due to the Covid restrictions that were imposed by the government. Many videos surfaced on various social media that showed people openly shouting slogans such as "Xi Jinping, step down" and "Communist Party, step down'."
Hundreds of people have been arrested in the last three years for resisting apartment lockdowns and dragging people out of their homes to transport them to quarantine centers.
Meanwhile. the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that China is downplaying the severity of the virus outbreak in the country.
"We believe the current numbers being published from China under-represents the true impact of the disease in terms of hospital and ICU admissions and particularly in terms of deaths," Dr. Michael Ryan, Director of WHO emergencies, told a media briefing in Geneva on January 5.
(With Inputs From PTI)