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City officials in Guangzhou have relaxed Covid-19 restrictions while protests in the city continue.

Loosening

Authorities announced on Wednesday, Nov. 30, that temporary Covid restrictions would be lifted in all but one of Guangzhou's 11 districts, Bloomberg reported.

This means that residents could now leave their housing compounds after a weeks-long lockdown.

According to Reuters, the district of Conghua would also allow students to go back to schools for their lessons.

Authorities announced an end to mass PCR testing as well, The Guardian reported.

The easing of restrictions also applied to most parts of the district of Haizhu, where most of the protests took place and where protesters clashed with the police on Tuesday (Nov. 29). Parts of the area, however, remain under lockdown.

These restrictions were imposed previously in an effort to curb the rise in Covid cases, and have come unexpectedly at a time when the southern manufacturing hub is still experiencing a surge in Covid cases, despite the slight dip in numbers in recent days.

More than 7,000 new cases were reported on Sunday (Nov. 27), while it was reported that the number of new cases on Nov. 29 reached almost 7,000, implying that cases are falling.

Tightening

This announcement comes amid unprecedented protests among Guangzhou residents, and also in multiple cities across the country.

Footage said to be from the night of Nov. 29 and shared by The Guardian showed PPE clad police marching through a street strewn with what looked like barriers which were presumably torn down by protesters.

Holding riot gear in what appeared to be a roman testudo formation, they marched down the road.

Later on in the same video, it shows arrested individuals being taken away.

Another video circulating on Twitter shows protesters throwing items at the advancing police.

广州海珠区后滘 补充视频

民众向警方投掷玻璃瓶 pic.twitter.com/lRvmHBwUq5

— 李老师不是你老师 (@whyyoutouzhele) November 29, 2022

A previous riot against Covid restrictions had taken place in the district on Nov. 14.

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Top image by @whyyoutouzhele/Twitter