Beijing's subway has dropped mandatory mask requirements for travellers, local media reported on Sunday, days after a Chinese health expert said the threat of COVID-19 to humans is no longer at a serious level.
The mask move is in line with broader measures by China, which said last week it was now no longer mandatory to wear face masks when using public transport, according to state media.
"It's as if an era has passed," a user said on China's popular social e-commerce app Xiaohongshu, as social media was abuzz with news of the rules being eased.
Staff at a Beijing subway station tore down signs reminding people to wear masks, Beijing Daily reported.
The pandemic is nearing its end, based on World Health Organization data, said Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the China Daily.
China, which dismantled its strict COVID rules in December, said the latest official data indicated the COVID positivity rate went up slightly in early April, according to the Global Times. However, respiratory specialists said it was unlikely China would experience another big wave of infections nationwide.
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