Officials including Lei Haichao, deputy director of China’s National Health Commission, said on Monday that the overhaul of the “zero-coronavirus” policy to curb the spread of the new coronavirus was a fine-tuning of the rules and not a deregulation. interpretation that was a step towards coexistence with the new crown.
Officials cite data showing that shortening the mandatory quarantine period in hotels or public facilities for immigrants and close contacts to five days still catches the majority of people infected, while the coronavirus containment effort has emphasized that a stance strict remains China’s guiding policy.
Lei Haichao deputy director on the 12thPress conferenceRegarding the review, which includes a ban on excessive lockdowns (city lockdowns) by local authorities, he explained: “It’s against the backdrop of a deeper understanding of the virus and advances in vaccine research and development.”
But officials have not ruled out the possibility of further easing of rules, with a researcher at the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention saying China’s response to the coronavirus will continue to be guided by science. Deputy Director Lei then said that the government “continues to move forward in small steps”.
news-rsf-original-reference paywall">Original title:China says it’s refining Covid rules, not easing controls (2)(extract)
