China announces rollback of strict anti-COVID-19 measures

China has announced a major rollback from its rigid approach to tackling COVID-19 that triggered nationwide protests and allowed people with mild or no symptoms to quarantine at home rather than at dreaded centralized quarantine centers.

The directive announced yesterday by the National Health Commission (NHC) also instructed officials to halt temporary lockdowns and end testing and health code requirements for most places and for domestic travel.

Mass COVID testing, a key feature



of government efforts to quell even small outbreaks, will be largely abandoned. 

The sweeping changes followed a meeting convened on Tuesday by the Politburo, the top policymaking body of the Communist Party, strongly indicating that China is finally moving away from its zero-Covid policy. 

During the briefing today, NHC officials also cautioned that the changes "do not mean a total easing and giving up on pandemic controls."