China further relaxes COVID-19 restrictions after protests

China relaxed daily mass testing requirements on Friday, that was part of the Beijing's stringent zero-COVID policy

Cities across China further unwound COVID restrictions Friday, loosening testing and quarantine rules in the wake of nationwide protests calling for an end to lockdowns and greater political freedoms.

Anger and frustration with China's hardline pandemic response spilled onto the streets last weekend in widespread demonstrations not seen in decades.

China's vast security apparatus has moved swiftly to smother the protests, deploying a heavy police presence, and boosting online censorship and surveillance of the population.

A number of cities have also begun loosening COVID restrictions, such as moving away from daily mass testing requirements – a tedious mainstay of life under Beijing's stringent zero-COVID policy.

But sporadic localised clashes have continued to flare up.

Social media footage posted Thursday night and geolocated by AFP showed dozens of people clashing with health workers in white hazmat suits outside a middle school in Yicheng, in central China's Hubei province.

The author of the post said people in the video were parents of students who had tested positive for the virus and had been taken to central quarantine.