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Ammon News - Chinese authorities have announced an ease in nationwide COVID rules.

Asymptomatic cases and people with mild symptoms will now be allowed to quarantine at home, the National Health Commission announced on Wednesday.

The scope and frequency of COVID testing will also be reduced.

Local authorities across the country have rolled back several restrictions following rare protests over China's Zero-Covid policy, which has isolated Beijing as the rest of the world opens up.

Beijing residents no longer have to show a negative test to enter shops and offices, authorities said on Tuesday. Similar measures were also introduced at its international airports.

The government announced last week it would speed up vaccinations for the elderly, but other nationwide measures were not introduced.

Vice Premier Sun Chunlan later said the country was in a new stage of the fight against the virus as the Omnicron variant weakens.

Markets slumped as rare demonstrations surfaced at the end of November, including in Beijing and the financial hub of Shanghai.

Riot police clashed with protesters, who demanded an end to President Xi Jinping's stringent restrictions keeping lockdowns and mass testing at the forefront of China's response to the virus.