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China has announced a nationwide loosening of Covid restrictions.

A long time coming

According to CNBC, people who tested positive for Covid are now allowed to quarantine at home instead of being sent to a central facility.

The country has also scrapped PCR test requirements for most public venues except hospitals and schools, the BBC reported. Previously, people needed to show a negative PCR result or a health code to enter public venues or to travel with the exception of entering hospitals, schools and retirement homes.

The announcement comes just a week after civil protests broke out in China following a deadly building fire that killed 10 people and injured nine others in Urumqi, Xinjiang.

The protests started out as public mourning for the victims which eventually escalated to demonstrations against the country's strict lockdown policies, with some even calling for Chinese President Xi Jinping to step down.

According to the BBC, in loosening its Covid restrictions, China included a strict ban on blocking fire exits and doors.

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Top image via Kevin Frayer/Getty Images