China relaxes curbs, boosts security ahead of ex-Prez's funeral

Beijing, December 1

China relaxed its stringent zero-Covid restrictions in several cities after public protests and stepped up security across the country on Thursday as it braced for next week’s high-profile funeral of former President Jiang Zemin who died a day earlier.

Flexible measures were implemented across China to ensure people’s livelihoods amid the cold front, the official media reported.

After protests against zero-covid lockdowns, China’s top industrial and business hub Guangzhou lifted temporary restrictions in some regions and officially allowed qualified close contacts to be quarantined at home instead of in temporary shelters.

Such relaxations were announced in Beijing, Shijiazhuang, and Taiyuan, the official media reports said.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in Beijing, Shanghai and several other cities, which witnessed anti-zero covid measures as the government prepared for next Tuesday’s funeral of former Chinese President Jiang who died on Wednesday.