Crowds in the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou have crashed through lockdown barriers and marched on to streets in a rare outburst of public anger about Covid restrictions days after the Chinese government announced that it was easing them.
According to videos widely shared on Twitter, hundreds cheered as they charged through the streets in Haizhu district in chaotic scenes in southwestern Guangzhou on Monday night. In one piece of footage, protesters overturned a police car.
Local police declined to comment when contacted by the Guardian. “I cannot answer your question,” a staff member at the Datang police station in Haizhu district said on Tuesday.
Guangzhou, home to nearly 19 million people, has been the centre of Covid outbreaks in
China, with the number of cases surging in recent days. Daily infections of Covid-19 in the city have topped 5,000 for the first time, leading to speculation that localised lockdowns could widen.