WHO pleased to see China ease strict zero-Covid policies

A top official at the World Health Organization said the UN agency was “pleased” to see China loosening some of its coronavirus restrictions, saying “it’s really important that governments listen to their people when the people are in pain”.

At a press briefing on Friday, WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said the organisation was glad to see China “adjusting their current strategies” in trying to recalibrate their response to Covid-19.

Last week, huge protests against the severe Covid-19 restrictions in China erupted in numerous cities, in the biggest show of opposition to the ruling Communist Party in decades.

“We’ve all had to deal with restrictions of movement, we’ve all had to deal with having our lives changed and frankly, it’s exhausting,” Ryan said. The WHO has previously described China’s “zero-Covid” strategy as “not sustainable”, saying that the super-infectious Omicron variant made trying to stop every single case of Covid-19 impossible.

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Beijing closes some Covid testing booths as China enters new phase of pandemic controls

Beijing closes some Covid testing booths as China enters new phase of pandemic controls

Ryan said using imported messenger RNA vaccines, like those made by BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna, would be a “solid option” for China to boost its immunisation coverage. China’s home-grown vaccines have proven to be less effective and scientists say any protection they provided is likely to have faded with the emergence of Omicron.

The decision of which vaccines to use “are choices that sovereign governments need to make based on the best benefit to their population”, Ryan said. He said future strategies should balance “the control of the virus with the lives, the livelihoods and well-being and human rights of the people in China”.