Beijing apparently scraps plan to require COVID vaccines in many public places

China’s capital city of Beijing this week appeared to quickly and quietly walk back a plan to require residents to show proof of vaccination status when they entered a public establishment, state-run media indicated this week.

Authorities in Beijing had announced earlier this week that the city would require vaccines to enter public places like gyms, entertainment venues and other crowded locations. 

Yet health officials by Thursday appeared to have walked back those plans, with the state-run Beijing Daily reporting that the only virus-related rule for those public venues was the longstanding negative-testing requirement. 

Local backlash to the proposed new rules had reportedly been brewing after they were announced. Beijing on Thursday reported no new COVID cases in the entire city of about 21 million.