BEIJING—Fever clinics and hospital emergency rooms in China’s capital were overflowing with patients on Monday as Chinese health authorities announced plans to downgrade treatment of Covid-19, a move that clears the way for the country to open its borders to international arrivals without quarantines.
Meanwhile, Chinese leader Xi Jinping called on local officials to make any effort to save lives, his first public comments on the pandemic since China abruptly abandoned its stringent zero-Covid-19 strategy in early December.
