People ride on a subway during evening rush hour, after the government loosened coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, in Beijing. Reuters
People ride on a subway during evening rush hour, after the government loosened coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, in Beijing. Reuters
Beijing: Getting a step closer to ban all forms of COVID measures, Beijing has now dropped mandatory mask requirements for all subway travellers, local media reported on Sunday.
The order comes days after a Chinese health expert put minds at ease by saying that the threat posed by COVID is no longer serious.
Beijing subway staff tore down signs put up to remind people to wear masks, indicating the promulgation of the order effective immediately.
A user wrote “It’s as if an era has passed” on China’s popular social e-commerce app Xiaohongshu.
The pandemic is nearing its end, based on World Health Organization data, said Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the China Daily.
According to Global Times, however, the latest figures show that China’s positivity rate slightly went up in April. But respiratory specialists said it was unlikely China would experience another big wave of infections nationwide.
Masks are optional on public transport and in supermarkets, movie theatres and other indoor places with large gatherings, Xinhua News reported.
Masks, however, remain mandatory when a person has tested positive for COVID or is displaying symptoms, during local outbreaks and in medical institutions and nursing homes, the report added.
Earlier this week, health officials in India announced that COVID in the country is moving towards the endemic stage.
Moreover, US President Joe Biden on Monday signed a GOP-led resolution, bringing an end to the COVID-19 national emergency more than three years after it went into effect.
The legislation drafted by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) passed the House 229-197 in February despite almost 200 House Democrats voting against it after the White House said it strongly opposed the measure, though it did not threaten to veto it if the bill passed.
The bill later passed the Senate in a bipartisan 68-23 vote.
With inputs from agencies
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