China's COVID-19 Epidemic Prevention and Control Update

China's decisions to cut many long-standing COVID-19 restrictions in November and downgrade the management of the virus from Jan 8 were consistent with its previous actions in refining COVID-19 response measures to handle emerging challenges, according to experts.

On Nov 11, the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism, the country's COVID-19 control task force, published 20 measures on optimizing epidemic control.

The regulatory changes — including abandoning the circuit breaker mechanism for inbound flights and further shortening the time that international arrivals had to spend at isolation hotels — kick-started a cascade of changes. Before the end of the year, China had stopped tracing COVID-19 cases and allowed patients to isolate at home.

Testing requirements were cut for everyday scenarios, such as taking the subway, dining at restaurants and traveling out of town. Fitness clubs, karaoke bars and other entertainment venues were allowed to resume business. From Jan 8, inbound travelers will no longer have to undergo quarantine or take a nucleic acid test upon arrival.

China's downgrading management of COVID-19 from Class A to Class B takes effect from Sunday after the country made several adjustments to its anti-virus policies in 2022.

China is getting back to its pre-epidemic hustle and bustle, with production lines humming and machines running, restaurants and shopping malls filled with people, and travel rushes on the road and at subway stations the norm again.

More than 50 million people traveled in China during the New Year holiday. On Jan. 1, 10,640 cinemas opened for business nationwide, a new high in nearly 10 months.

As China's 40-day-long Spring Festival travel rush kicked off Saturday, people are swarming train stations, airports, and coach terminals across the country for family reunions.

The number of passenger trips during this period is expected to surge 99.5 percent year on year to nearly 2.1 billion, resuming 70.3 percent of that in the same period in 2019, data from the Ministry of Transport shows.

China released its 10th edition of COVID-19 control protocol on  Jan. 7 , Saturday, highlighting vaccination and personal protection.

Release Notification by the State Council joint COVID-19 prevention and control mechanism team, the protocol encourages the public, especially the elderly, to take the initiative to get fully vaccinated and take booster shots.

"For high-risk population, a second booster dose was recommended six months after the first dose of a booster is completed," says the protocol.

It also stresses good hygiene habits such as washing hands frequently and wearing masks to strengthen personal protection.

Mass nucleic acid testing will no longer be carried out, but antigen or nucleic acid testing will be conducted for relevant people seeking medical treatment and inpatients at hospitals, staff or care recipients at aged care facilities and social welfare institutions, and people at high risk of serious illness in communities, says the protocol.

Quarantine measures against people with a COVID-19 infection will be dropped, and their close contacts will no longer be identified, says the protocol, adding that the designating of high-risk and low-risk areas will be stopped.

It also proposes that temporary prevention and control measures should be taken timely and in accordance with the law to reduce large gatherings as well as the flow of people, to alleviate the impact of the sudden increase of infected people on social functioning and medical resources.

为指导各地做好新型冠状病毒感染疫情防控工作，依据《中华人民共和国传染病防治法》有关规定，按照《关于对新型冠状病毒感染实施“乙类乙管”的总体方案》及其配套文件的相关要求，国务院联防联控机制综合组组织修订形成了《新型冠状病毒感染防控方案（第十版）》。主要修订内容如下：

一、调整疾病名称

将“新型冠状病毒肺炎”更名为“新型冠状病毒感染”。

二、明确指导原则

以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为指导，坚持“预防为主、防治结合、依法科学、分级分类”的原则，坚持常态化防控和疫情流行期间应急处置相结合，压实“四方责任”，提高监测预警灵敏性，强化重点人群保护，实现“保健康、防重症”的工作目标，最大程度保护人民生命安全和身体健康，最大限度减少疫情对经济社会发展的影响。

三、倡导疫苗接种和个人防护

倡导公众特别是老年人积极主动全程接种疫苗和加强免疫接种；对高风险人群，在完成第一剂次加强免疫接种满6个月后，可进行第二剂次加强免疫接种。强调“每个人是自己健康的第一责任人”，坚持勤洗手、戴口罩、常通风等良好卫生习惯，加强个人防护。

四、加强监测预警

明确常态化和应急情况下需要开展的重点监测工作。常态化情况下，主要开展病毒变异监测、个案报告、哨点医院监测、不明原因肺炎监测、城市污水监测等。应急情况下，增加核酸和抗原检测监测、部分医疗机构门（急）诊监测、重点机构监测、学生监测、社区人群哨点监测等。明确监测信息和疫情信息发布要求，根据防控需要及时发布预警信息。

五、优化检测策略

社区居民根据需要“愿检尽检”，不再开展全员核酸筛查。对有关就诊人员和住院患者、养老机构、社会福利机构等工作人员和被照护人员、社区重症高风险人员等开展抗原或核酸检测。明确社区保留足够的便民核酸检测点，保障抗原检测试剂充足供应，保证居民检测需求。

六、调整传染源管理方式

对新型冠状病毒感染者不再实行隔离措施，不再判定密切接触者，不再划定高低风险区。对新型冠状病毒感染者实施分级分类收治要求，未合并严重基础疾病的无症状感染者、轻型病例可采取居家自我照护，其他病例应及时到医疗机构就诊。

七、优化重点环节防控

加强对重点人群、重点机构和行业、大型场所、农村地区的疫情防控工作，注重保护重点人群，降低聚集性疫情和重症风险。疫情严重时重点党政机关和重点行业落实工作人员“两点一线”和人员轮转机制，保障社会正常运行。

八、流行期间采取紧急防控措施

在疫情流行期间，结合病毒变异情况、疫情流行强度、医疗资源负荷和社会运转情况综合评估，适时依法采取临时性的防控措施，减少人员聚集，降低人员流动，减轻感染者短时期剧增对社会运行和医疗资源等的冲击。