China struggles with Covid infections after controls eased

A poster named as Tunnel Mouth wrote on the popular Sina Weibo platform: “I’m really speechless. Half of the company’s people are out sick, but they still won’t let us all stay home.

Residents line up for medicine at a pharmacy in Beijing (AP)

A surge of Covid-19 cases in schools and businesses has been reported by social media users across China after the ruling Communist Party loosened anti-virus rules in a bid to reverse a deepening economic slump.

Official data showed a fall in new cases, but those no longer cover big parts of the population after the government ended mandatory testing for many people on Wednesday.