Rumours about China reactivating its coronavirus app have grown on social media amid growing fears lockdown rules could return.
Citizens in China are increasingly fearful about restrictions returning amid a recent surge in cases.
Coronavirus testing is also being brought back to some airports and hospitals.
A notice issued by the education ministry on Monday also urged schools around the country to step up prevention efforts ahead of the winter season.
People wear face masks as a preventive measure against the coronavirus as they use a phone app to scan a code
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Some users even worry the Covid-tracking app was never taken down.
Social media censorship on the related hashtag has only fuelled further speculation.
A Weibo user said: “Scenes like this make me feel really uncomfortable.”
Another wrote: “There are widespread rumours that the health tracking app is being revived, and worries that there will be another lockdown … These worries probably won’t come true unless there’s a new pandemic.
“These worries really represent fear and sadness about the past three years of trauma, and hatred of the abuse of power during Covid.”
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Firefighters prepare to conduct disinfection at the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport
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China has been dealing with a wave of pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses in recent months.
The surge has been attributed the increase to flu season and it is being monitored by the World Health Organisation.
The WHO last month noted how China had enhanced surveillance for respiratory illness since mid-October.
It also stressed that the increase of respiratory illness was expected with the arrival of winter.
Beijing was forced to respond to a sharp resurgence of Covid cases in May due to the XBB variant.
A man wears a protective mask on February 10, 2020 in Wuhan, China
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However, projections that China could see as many as 65 million cases per week.
Xi Jinping enforced a zero-Covid policy after the virus rocked the world in March 2020.
The policy included widespread use of contact-tracing apps, regular mass testing and mandatory quarantine.
Frustrations escalated in November last year when protests broke out in parts of the country.
Xi went on to abandon China’s zero-Covid just a few weeks later.
Shipping containers in ChinaGETTYPandemic-related restrictions have also had an impact on the economy.
The pandemic caused a major hit after limiting travel, manufacturing and transport.
A number of global economies were dealt a fiscal blow as restrictions impacted the labour market.
