Nation to downgrade COVID management

China will downgrade its management of COVID-19 from Class A to Class B on Jan 8, a move made possible by the reduced virulence of Omicron, expanded vaccinations and increased treatment and emergency response tools, officials and experts said on Tuesday.

The downgrade, a major change to China's antivirus strategy, means inbound travelers will no longer have to undergo quarantine or take a nucleic acid test upon arrival in the country, the State Council said in a document released on Monday.

Isolation of infected people, tracking of close contacts and classification of at-risk areas will be scrapped. Testing services will be available for those wanting to take a test, and reporting of epidemic information, which is currently published daily, will be published monthly, the notice said.

Li Bin, vice-minister of the commission, said at a news briefing that China's COVID-19 control work has entered a new phase and has a new mission.

"We have been closely monitoring the virus and epidemic situation, accelerating the rollout of vaccines and supply of drugs, strengthening healthcare systems and improving emergency response capabilities," he said. "These efforts have created the conditions for us to modify the legal classification of the disease."

Li said that the dominant strain of Omicron has low rates of severe cases and deaths. Data shows the strain's pathogenicity has weakened and it mainly causes only fever and upper respiratory symptoms.

The characteristics of the strain have also prompted the commission to rename the disease from "novel coronavirus pneumonia" to "novel coronavirus infection".