A populous region in northern China that includes Beijing will ease restrictions imposed to halt the spread of the new coronavirus, as the country gradually transitions to a new state of normal amid dwindling cases of COVID-19.
The municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin, as well as neighboring Hebei province, will lower their COVID-19 emergency response level to level II from level I starting at midnight on Thursday, their respective governments said on Wednesday.
Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei are among the last few areas in China that have stuck to the highest level of emergency response on the four-tier system. Many other provinces have eased curbs to restart and repair local economies, with the national daily tally for new infections in the single-digits compared with thousands of cases every day in early February.