Politics

China began dismantling its “zero-covid” policy, which was struggling to contain the Omicron variant and had become a source of widespread frustration. The state will no longer force people with mild cases to enter government-run quarantine centres. They can now isolate at home. It also lifted many testing requirements and said lockdowns should be more targeted. The changes come as the official number of new cases is falling. That is probably because fewer people are being tested. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the Omicron variant is spreading.