According to local media reports, there is growing public pressure on the Chinese Government to relax its prolonged zero-Covid policy given the downturn in the country’s economy.

The discussions during the ongoing 7th Plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the CCP are, inter alia, focussed on the party’s resolve to continue with the stringent zero-Covid policy even after the 20th National Congress of the CCP, reports ANI.

This was also echoed by the Party’s mouthpiece ‘People’s Daily’ which urged (Oct 10) the public to “show patience” with the zero-Covid policy for cutting all virus transmission chains, ANI reported.

The People’s Daily's call for patience has dampened the hopes of the public that Covid-related restrictions would be eased after the Congress.

In recent weeks, China has seen a rebound in Covid-19 cases, fuelled by more transmissible variants.

New Omicron sub-variants BF.7 and BA.5.1.7, which are highly infectious with greater transmissibility, have been detected in China.

The World Health Organization has given out a warning against the highly infectious BF.7 COVID subvariant, while it has also expected the subvariant to become a new dominant variant.

The ruling CCP has used the zero-Covid strategy to argue that its political model is superior to Western democracies, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has thrown his weight behind the policy.

As a result of the restrictions, some inside China have taken to calling this year’s holiday “the bleakest Golden Week ever” as people become fatigued with three years of Covid restrictions, choosing instead to stay at home rather than risk getting caught in unexpected lockdowns, ANI reported.