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Protests against China’s strict “zero-COVID” policies resurfaced in Shanghai and Beijing on Sunday afternoon, continuing a round of demonstrations that have spread across the country since a deady  apartment fire in the northwestern city of Urumqi. Crowds stood and filmed as police started shoving at people who had gathered in the street in Shanghai and shouted, “We don’t want PCR tests, we want freedom!” Since Friday people have held protests across China, where street demonstrations are extremely rare. But anger and frustration have flared over the deaths from a fire in an apartment building in Urumqi that the public believes was caused by excessive lockdown measures that delayed rescue. A list on social media showed that there were demonstrations in 50 universities.

Protests against China’s anti-virus controls that have confined millions of people to their homes spread to Shanghai and other cities after complaints the death toll in a fire in China’s northwest might have been worsened by the restrictions. A witness in Shanghai said police used pepper spray against about 300 protesters. They were gathered to mourn the deaths of at least 10 people in an apartment fire last week in Urumqi in the northwest. Videos on social media showed protesters in other cities including Nanjing in the east and Guangzhou in the south tussling with police. President Xi Jinping's government faces mounting anger at restrictions at a time when other countries are relaxing controls.

"I'm bored. I feel like a Corvette being used as a grocery cart," said one "SuperAger," possessing a brain as sharp as people 20 to 30 years younger.