Crowds in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou have crashed through COVID barriers and marched down streets in chaotic scenes, according to videos posted online, in a show of resentment over coronavirus curbs.
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Among all the latest outbreaks in China, Guangzhou has the biggest caseload, with new daily infections of COVID-19 topping 5000 for the first time and fuelling speculation that localised lockdowns could widen.
Videos posted and widely shared on Twitter showed noisy scenes in Guangzhou's Haizhu district late on Monday night of people charging down streets and remonstrating with white hazmat-suit-clad workers.
Several hashtags related to the topic of "riots" in the area were scrubbed from China's Twitter-like Weibo by Tuesday morning.
Neither the Guangzhou city government nor the Guangdong provincial police responded to Reuters' requests for comment.
On Tuesday, authorities reported 17,772 new local COVID-19 infections for November 14, up from 16,072 a day earlier and the most since April, even as many cities scale back routine testing after authorities announced measures last week aimed at easing the impact of heavy coronavirus curbs.
In the capital Beijing, new infections hit a record high of 462 for Monday, up from 407 a day earlier. Major cities including Chongqing and Zhengzhou were among the worst-hit.
Still, China is scrambling to limit the damage of its zero-COVID policy nearly three years into the pandemic, as the latest in a spate of dismal economic reports showed retail sales fell in October and factory output grew more slowly than expected.
While many residents have expressed guarded optimism after Friday's announcement that some of the stringent COVID policies would be eased, concerns grew this week over the worsening outbreaks and there was confusion as some cities halted or adjusted regular testing.
Monday night's scenes from Guangzhou were the latest outpouring of frustration over COVID curbs that have triggered frequent lockdowns and enforced quarantines under a policy that China argues saves lives.
In Guangzhou, home to nearly 19 million people, rising case numbers have fueled speculation that a handful of district-level lockdowns could be expanded.
"The infection curve of Guangzhou is tracking the pace of Shanghai's March-April outbreak, raising the question of whether a city-wide lockdown will be triggered," JPMorgan analysts wrote, referring to Shanghai's two-month lockdown this year, which sparked widespread unrest.
"It would become a testing point regarding the government's determination to push for the relaxation of COVID control measures," they said.
Under China's new rules, testing efforts are to be more targeted, easing what has been a significant financial burden on cities.
Friday's easing announcement sparked a market rally on hopes that China is signaling plans to end a policy that has all-but-shut its borders and caused frequent lockdowns, possibly starting after the annual session of parliament in March.
But experts warn that full reopening will require a massive vaccination booster effort, given low levels of herd immunity resulting from China's isolation during the pandemic. It will also require a change in messaging, they say, in a country where catching COVID is widely feared.
Australian Associated Press
