Beijing protesters hold blank sheets of paper during a protest against Covid restrictions (Photo: EPA)

China has been rocked by protests against its government’s draconian Covid measures.

Thousands of protesters gathered in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities on Sunday against the country’s zero-case policy, which includes repeated testing and not allowing people to leave their homes for 100 days.

China is the only major country still battling the virus with such restrictions, and the unusually bold move shows the people’s level of desperation.

Crowds took to the streets in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, on Friday chanting “End the lockdown” and raising their fists.

National anger was sparked by a wildfire in the city on Thursday that killed at least ten people.

It is feared that President Xi Jinping’s restrictions prevented residents from escaping a burning skyscraper.

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People chant slogans at a rally on a street in Shanghai on Nov. 27, 2022, where protests against China's zero Covid policy took place the night before after a deadly fire in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL/AFP) (Photo by Hector RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)

People chant slogans at a gathering on a street in Shanghai (Image: AFP)

Police and people are pictured during some clashes in Shanghai on Nov. 27, 2022, where protests against China's zero-Covid policy took place the night before following a deadly fire in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL/AFP) (Photo by Hector RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)

Protesters clashed with police this afternoon (Image: AFP)

Police officers stand guard as people protest coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions and hold a vigil to remember the victims of a fire in Urumqi as outbreaks of the coronavirus disease spread in Beijing, China, April 27, 2022. REUTERS/ ThomasPeter

Officials stand guard as people hold a vigil to remember the victims of the Urumqi fire (Image: Reuters)

“The Urumqi fire has upset everyone in the country,” said Sean Li, a resident of Beijing.

Thousands of protesters have also poured into Shanghai for a third day in a row, despite police efforts to disperse them.

People heard slogans like “Xi Jinping, resign” and “Communist Party, resign”.

Some were seen holding up blank sheets of paper.

A Reuters witness saw at least seven people being taken away by police.

Police officers stand guard as people protest coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions and hold a vigil to remember the victims of a fire in Urumqi as outbreaks of the coronavirus disease spread in Beijing, China, April 27, 2022. REUTERS/ ThomasPeter

Many laid flowers and lit candles to remember the victims (Photo: Reuters)

TOPSHOT - Police officers confront a man as they block Wulumuqi Road, named after Urumqi in Mandarin, in Shanghai on November 27, 2022, in the area where anti-China protests raged the night before after a deadly Urumqi-Covid policy fire. the capital of the Xinjiang region. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL/AFP) (Photo by Hector RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)

Police officers confront a man as they block Wulumuqi Road, named after Urumqi in Mandarin, in Shanghai (Image: AFP)

“We just want our basic human rights. We can’t leave the house without taking a test. It was the accident in Xinjiang that pushed people too far,” said a 26-year-old protester, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

“The people here are not violent, but the police arrest them for no reason.

“They tried to grab me, but people around me grabbed me so hard and pulled me back so I could escape.”

Another protester, Shaun Xiao, said, “I’m here because I love my country, but not my government.

“I want to be able to go out freely, but I can’t. Our Covid policy is a game and not based on science or reality.”

The demonstrations appear to have spread to as many as 50 universities.

They come as Covid cases in the country have been at record highs for days, with nearly 40,000 new infections as of Saturday.

China defends the policy as lifesaving and necessary to avoid overburdening the health system.

Officials have vowed to continue with it, despite the growing public decline and mounting economic pressures.

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