China reported the fewest new COVID-19 cases in almost three months, with the easing of outbreaks in Beijing and Shanghai emboldening authorities to relax some of the strictest virus controls of the pandemic and move to stimulate the country’s faltering economy.
In Beijing, infections dropped to 12 on Sunday, from 21 on Saturday. Curbs on movement in several districts started to be loosened yesterday after officials said the outbreak was under control. The decline has eased concern that Beijing could have been headed for a lockdown when it was reporting several dozen cases a day earlier in the outbreak despite increasingly strict restrictions.
In Shanghai, cases fell to 67 for Sunday from 122 on Saturday. The financial hub on Sunday rolled out a raft of measures to support its lockdown-hit economy, including allowing all manufacturing to restart from Wednesday.