SWEEPING CHANGE

By Lu Yan

After months of lin- ing up every two to three days to take a nucleic acid test at temporary testing stations dotting the urban landscape， many Chinese residents were pleasantly surprised to learn on December 7 that they would no longer be required to take the test.

The news came after China issued a notice on 10 new measures to further optimize its COVID-19 response that same day.

The notice stated nucleic acid testing should be carried out among people in high-risk positions and areas in accordance with relevant regulations and offered to those willing to take a test.

Mindful of virus mutations and the need to lessen the overall impact of COVID-19 flareups on economic activity and daily life， various levels of government have made a flurry of adjustments to their pandemic control measures recently following heated public debate on how to strike the delicate balance between COVID-19 control and normal life.

Ten new measures

The notice on December 7 has eased related restrictions on social and economic activities. It stated that a negative test result or health code is no longer needed except for entering special institutions such as nursing homes， welfare institutions， medical institutions， kindergartens or primary and middle schools. Interregional travel， too， no longer requires them. Important Party and government organs， large enterprises and a number of special places can determine their own prevention and control measures. Beijing， Shanghai and a few others still require 48-hour negative test results for entering restaurants， bars， etc. Its not a general rule.

Asymptomatic cases and those with mild symptoms may quarantine at home， while they can also choose to be quarantined and treated in centralized facilities， according to the notice.

The notice also stressed that high-risk areas shall be defined by buildings， units， floors and households， and must not be expanded at will. Non-high-risk areas shall not restrict the flow of personnel and shall not mandate a stop of work， production or business. Schools with no infection， too， must carry out normal onsite teaching activities. The notice strictly prohibited the blocking of fire passages or building and community doors to ensure the public has access to emergency exits if necessary.

The notice prohibited restrictions on the purchase of over-the-counter drugs to treat colds and similar afflictions and called for accelerating vaccination among senior citizens.

Policy adjustments

The 10 new measures came on the heels of Vice Premier Sun Chunlans recent visits to the National Health Commission （NHC）， where she emphasized the need for constantly optimizing the countrys COVID-19 response. She visited the NHC on November 30 and the next day to hear opinions and suggestions on improving epidemic containment measures respectively from experts and frontline workers.

She noted that China has always put its peoples health and safety first， and effectively dealt with the uncertainties of the COVID-19 situation with a consistent strategy and flexible measures to fight the virus.

At the onset of the pandemic， the Chinese Government took a dynamic zero-COVID approach to contain the virus， with non-pharmacological interventions， such as lockdowns and mass testing， as the mainstay of control measures for the virus outbreak. While these measures did result in some loss of economic vitality， they did also largely protect the general population from contracting the virus. As a result， China has one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates in the world， whereas the U.S.， for example， lost more than 1 million lives due to COVID-19-induced illness and related complications. Many experts projected that had China relaxed its control measures at an earlier stage， given the countrys huge population and relatively low number of medical institutions， the mortality rate could have been two to three times that of the U.S.

Over the past nearly three years， Chinas healthcare and disease control systems had stood the test of the pandemic， and effective diagnostic and treatment methods and medication have been developed， she said.

More than 90 percent of Chinese people have been fully vaccinated and the publics health awareness has been significantly improved， while the pathogenicity of the Omicron virus is weakening， she said， adding all these factors have created the right conditions for adjusting COVID-19 response measures.

She urged for efforts to further optimize COVID-19 response， improve diagnosis， testing， treatment and quarantine measures， strengthen the immunization of the whole population， particularly seniors， and step up the preparation of medications and other medical resources.

The 10 new measures were a step forward from the 20 measures to optimize the countrys COVID-19 response spelled out in a document issued on November 11， through which the central authorities urged a doubling-down on efforts to rectify excessive restrictions.

According to the 20 measures， in regions with no infection， nucleic acid testing should be conducted only among people working in highrisk positions. Mass screening of entire administrative divisions such as districts and cities should be avoided except in certain complicated cases.

The quarantine periods for close contacts of confirmed cases and inbound travelers were shortened. Secondary close contacts， those who have been close to someone since they were exposed to COVID-19， will no longer be identified. People who visit high-risk areas will be subject to a seven-day home quarantine instead of seven days in designated facilities.

Local authorities also rolled out plans targeting specific local conditions in response to the 20 measures. For example， Beijing no longer requires people to present a negative test result when taking public transportation or entering office buildings， malls and supermarkets.

Like Beijing， Shanghai， too， stopped checking test results in public places except for senior and childcare institutions， hospitals， schools and kindergartens.

Responding to calls

These policy adjustments have addressed the peoples concerns. November saw a surge in COVID-19 cases in some cities in China such as Guangzhou and Beijing， and also a ramped-up response in some localities.

During the recent flareup， with many residents either in home quarantine or working from home， online orders of daily necessities in Beijing have gone up. As the residences of nearly 30 percent of delivery personnel were under closed-off management， they could not leave for work. The capitals authorities had to make swift decisions to relieve the strain on delivery services. And so， since mid-November， roughly 40，000 couriers have been put on the “white list，” a list of people who enjoy less-restricted movement and are allowed to deliver to closed-off residential complexes. These couriers must take daily nucleic acid tests and wear N95 masks， considered the most effective mask in preventing COVID-19 infection， while working. New virus versions fueled more frequent outbreaks and triggered extensive lockdowns of residential complexes nationwide. In November， it was reported that numerous locked-down buildings were fenced in to stop people from moving about； and many public places in affected areas， such as restaurants， malls and movie theaters， were temporarily closed. With seemingly no end in sight， these restrictions made the publics patience wear thin.

“Some localities unnecessarily expanded the locked-down areas and then dont lift restrictions for a long time； other places even impose control measures without approval，” Cheng Youquan， a senior official with the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control， said at a press conference on November 29. He added the recent surge in public ire is mostly directed at the “one-size-fits-all” approach some local governments take in containing the spread of COVID-19， rather than the overall control policies.

To tackle such wrongdoings that went well beyond the original intention of the national prevention and control strategy， special agencies have been established nationwide， responding to problems posted by netizens.

On social media platforms， one recent tragedy attracted unprecedented attention and discussion. On November 24， a fire tore through a residential high-rise in Urumqi， capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， killing 10 people and injuring nine more. Public outrage erupted， mainly because theyd read online that the buildings emergency exit had been locked and blocked for COVID-19 control reasons. Although on November 25， the Municipal Government of Urumqi denied the accusations， netizens have posted many pictures of emergency exits locked or blocked with wires， or even iron bolts， in other parts of the country under closed-off management.

Another online news snippet that sparked controversy read how several local health bureaus in cities including Beijing， Hefei in Anhui Province， and Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province had uncovered cases in which testing companies faked and forged COVID-19 testing results， according to Global Times on November 29.

For the first two years or so after COVID-19 was initially reported and before Omicron became the dominant virus strain， a green health code without nucleic acid test result was sufficient as a digital pass， with which people could move around in places like public transportation， communities， offices， supermarkets， and so on. It would turn red or yellow if the user contracted the virus or had contact with a positive case or was in a high-risk area； the user will then usually be informed to quarantine （at home） immediately.

In recent months， people were required to undergo mass nucleic acid testing and display negative results to enter public places. Mass testing has been carried out regularly in many places， and testing institutions have mushroomed. The country has about 13，100 qualified nucleic acid testing institutions， employing nearly 150，000 people， according to the NHC. Some say those companies have turned testing into a lucrative tool to make a quick profit. The illegal activities of some individuals in this business have generated public concern.

Shen Hongbing， deputy head of the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control， told a press conference on November 17 that mass nucleic acid testing will no longer be undertaken in administrative regions where just a few people have been infected， where the chain of transmission is clear and does not risk community transmission.

“It is very understandable that some places and people still have all kinds of concerns， but the solution to those concerns can only be found in the new situation. They need to roll with it，” Hu Xijin， former Editor in Chief of Global Times， said in an article published on his account on Chinas WeChat super app on December 5.

Come what may…

On December 2， the World Health Organization （WHO） announced the world was “much closer” to ending the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic， while also warning Omicron was still circulating worldwide.

“We are much closer to being able to say that the emergency phase of the pandemic is over—but were not there yet，” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing.“Omicron has proved to be significantly more transmissible than its predecessor， Delta， and continues to cause significant mortality due to the intensity of transmission.”

Although the dominant strain of Omicron and its subvariants have proved to be milder than the original novel coronavirus and the Delta strain， people with preexisting conditions， seniors and unvaccinated people are still likely to develop severe symptoms， according to Chang Zhaorui， a researcher with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Seniors and other susceptible groups are at high risk of becoming seriously， even critically， ill； they will benefit most from getting vaccinated，” Xia Gang， an official with the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control， told the news conference on November 29， adding that Chinese COVID-19 vaccines have demonstrated good protection against severe illness—and death.

In late November， the government released a work plan to step up vaccination among its senior population to protect this vulnerable group against COVID-19. It called for efforts to accelerate the increase of vaccination rates among people aged 80 and above and continue raising the rates among people aged between 60 and 79.

As of November 28， the mainland had fully vaccinated over 1.27 billion people， or 90.28 percent of the population， and delivered booster shots to about 811 million， according to the NHC. Yet the vaccination rate among senior residents remains significantly lower. Of people aged 60 and above， 86.4 percent had completed their primary vaccination； for those aged 80 and above， that number came to just 65.8 percent. About 181.5 million people aged 60 and above， and 14.5 million aged 80 and above， had received a booster shot.

Xia said because many seniors in China have disabilities， local governments should arrange for experienced medical workers to offer door-to-door services to answer their questions and monitor their health more closely.

The changes in the transmissibility and potency of the Omicron variant， including its severity of illness and mortality rate， are meticulously observed for potential policy changes， NHC spokesperson Mi Feng said at the press conference on November 29.

“At present， the pathogenicity of the Omicron virus is weakening. Some people will have a fever， cough， sore throat and other symptoms when infected，” Wang Guiqiang， an expert with the infectious disease department of Peking University First Hospital， said.

Infectious disease experts have explained， in detail， to the public the symptoms of infection and the progression of the illness， from day one to seven， as well as provided home treatment tips for those infected. Pharmacies have also stocked up on fever-reducing medication to meet a potential increase in demand.

What people， seniors and children in particular， should do now is protect themselves as best as possible， Hu said. “The later they are infected， the weaker the virus is likely to be. But we need to move towards a new life together. It is also the desire of seniors for the young and middle-aged to lead colorful life，” he said. “We need to break free from the shackles of the pandemic in exchange for a different childhood for our youngest generations.” BR