Guangzhou has reported 6,296 new local Covid-19 cases as of 0:00 November 16. 

Meanwhile, residents under Covid lockdown in China’s southern manufacturing hub have torn down barriers meant to confine them to their homes.

The protests in defiance of strictly enforced local orders took place late Monday evening on district streets as yet another sign of the mounting public anger and desperation over the government’s stringent zero-Covid policies.

The scenes in Guangzhou come as Beijing’s unrelenting drive to stamp out the spread of the virus faces questions of sustainability, amid fast-spreading new variants.

However, China is experiencing a surge in infections nationwide. On Tuesday, China’s National Health Commission reported more than 17,772 new Covid cases across the country, its highest total since April 2021, with Guangzhou, a city of 19 million, accounting for more than a quarter of those.

Nevertheless, markets were bid on the news last week of a reduction in quarantine time for travelers and close contacts to five days from seven. A penalty on airlines for bringing Covid cases into China was also removed. The measures came even as Covid infections surged.