China has abolished the mandatory wearing of masks on public transport, workplaces and schools, some of the few places where these rules were still mandatory.. With some of the remaining recent Covid Zero restrictions lifted, the country is recovering from a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than five million people worldwide.. Bloomberg writes about the situation with restrictive measures in the country.

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Masks will still need to be worn in hospitals, nursing homes and during Covid outbreaks, according to a government statement yesterday announcing the changes.. But people will be able to take them off in transport (airplanes, trains, subways and buses), and those who work in offices and students in schools will not need to wear them either..

In December, China abruptly abandoned its strict anti-Covid policy and has since largely returned to normal, with streets buzzing with people eating, traveling and shopping again after years of lockdown and uncertainty.. But there has also been a significant spike in cases and deaths across the country since the reopening, fueled in part by under-vaccination that has made some people weary of taking off their masks in public even as the measures eased..

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The change comes as Chinese authorities approve new vaccines, including the first home-based vaccine based on RNA technology, recommending a new vaccine three months after a pre-dose or Covid infection - up from the six-month interval previously envisaged..