BEIJING — Chinese universities sent students home and police fanned out in Beijing and Shanghai to prevent more protests Tuesday after crowds angered by severe anti-virus restrictionsAuthorities have eased some controls after demonstrations in at least eight mainland cities and Hong Kong — but showed no sign of backing off their larger “zero-COVID” strategy that has confined millions of people to their homes for months at a time.
On Sunday, Tsinghua students were told they could go home early for the semester and that the school would arrange buses to take them to the train station or airport. But many people are nervous after police detained some protesters and warned them against demonstrating again. The Chinese Communist Party promised last month to reduce disruption by changing quarantine and other rules. But a spike in infections has prompted cities to tighten controls, fueling public frustration.in China's far west last week that prompted angry questions online about whether firefighters or victims trying to escape were blocked by anti-virus controls.