Chinese cities restrict access as COVID-19 infections rise; South Korea moves to lift most regulations

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While Shanghai is easing COVID-19 rules for some of its 25 million residents, anti-virus controls in the country are spreading as infections rise. 

Access to Guangzhou – an industrial center that is home to 19 million people – was suspended this week and other cities are following suit. 

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Suzhou's government told its population of 18 million to stay home when possible, and the smaller city of Taiyuan suspended its inter-city bus service, according to the official China News Service. 

Ningde stopped residents from leaving. 

Spring planting by Chinese farmers could be impacted, with the government reporting 29,411 new cases on Thursday. The majority of those cases (95%) were in Shanghai. 

People wearing face masks walk near blossoming trees at a public park in Beijing, Thursday, April 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Videos shared widely on social media showed Shanghai city-dwellers shouting from their balconies in protest, with some saying they had not received government-distributed food packages. 

Those who test positive for COVID-19 are forced into temporary quarantine facilities that have been criticized by some as crowded and unsanitary.

"Prevention and control work cannot be relaxed," President Xi Jinping said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. "Persistence is victory."

Meanwhile, South Korea is set to remove most pandemic restrictions, including indoor gathering limits. 

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Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said Friday that while people will still be required to wear masks indoors, an outdoor mask mandate could be lifted if infections slow more over the next couple of weeks. 

Beginning next week, a midnight curfew at restaurants, coffee shops and other indoor businesses will be removed, as well as a 10-person limit on private social gatherings. 

A ban on large political rallies and events involving 300 or more people will also be reversed. 

People wearing face masks walk along the public area of the Cheonggye Stream in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

On April 25, South Koreans will be allowed to eat inside movie theaters, religious facilities, bus terminals and train stations.

In May, officials will remove a mandatory seven-day quarantine period for COVID-19 patients and allow them to receive treatment at hospitals and local clinics.

Kwon asked that people remain vigilant, noting it has become difficult to prolong social distancing rules.

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Cases there have fallen since March and more than half of the country’s 2,800 COVID-19 intensive care units remained available over the last day.

The country reported more than 125,800 new cases in the last day and 264 virus-related deaths.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.