Restrictions in major cities like Guangzhou were abruptly lifted on Wednesday, hours after the city saw violent protests that resulted in clashes between police and protesters.A community in the capital Beijing also allowed Covid cases with mild symptoms to isolate at home, according to a Reuters report - a far cry from protocols earlier this year which saw entire buildings and communities locked down, sometimes as a result of just one positive case.That equates to three Covid deaths in every million in China, compared with 3,000 per million in the US and 2,400 per million in the UK, although direct comparisons between countries are difficult.Zero-Covid policy has set up vicious cycleAnalysis by Rachel Schraer, BBC health and disinformation reporterIn China, the policy of so-called "dynamic zero-Covid" - taking action wherever Covid flares up in order to eliminate it - does not have a clear endpoint, and doesn't seem to have moved with the changing science and reality of the virus.It's also set up a vicious circle - long periods without mixing mean even once vaccinated, people are less likely to be exposed to the virus and benefit from the "hybrid immunity" which - studies suggest - affords the highest protection."