A provincial government in China will relax rules for wearing face masks in public, according to a press conference Tuesday. The message has triggered backlash among netizens who fear a potential COVID-19 rebound in the country.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s health authorities have strongly encouraged people to wear face masks in public to help curb the spread of the virus.

With the situation improving in China, authorities in the southwestern Sichuan province announced that people living in the province will not have to wear masks in 12 specific cases, including “in the office when no one around has symptoms like fever or cough” and “during indoor and outdoor workouts.”

People have bristled at the relaxed rules, however. Citing concerns over asymptomatic cases and infections imported from overseas, many wrote on microblogging platform Weibo that they would continue to wear their masks under the circumstances outlined in the notice.

“This is irresponsible. Now we will see people not wearing masks (at all),” one user wrote in a highly upvoted comment below the notice. “I’ll wait until it’s officially announced that the pandemic is over,” commented another.

On Wednesday, China’s National Health Commission also said that in well-ventilated, uncrowded areas, no face mask is required. (Image: IC)