SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) – China will significantly change its “zero COVID-19 dynamic” strategy to fight the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the coming months, a former senior Chinese health official said on Friday. .
The Chinese authorities are also preparing to reduce the quarantine period for travelers arriving in China, we also learned from sources familiar with the matter.
“The situation is changing now, and China’s ‘zero COVID dynamic’ strategy will therefore also see significant changes soon,” said Zeng Guang, former chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Friday. , during a conference devoted to the theme of China’s exit from the “zero COVID” strategy organized by the investment bank Citi.
According to a recording of his speech that Reuters was able to listen to, Zeng Guang stressed that the conditions for considering a reopening of China were “accumulating”, citing for example new vaccines or progress in Chinese research. on antiviral treatments.
Asked about the possibility of a reopening of China after the end of the annual plenary session of the Chinese parliament – which is usually held in March in Beijing for ten days – Zeng Guang explained that a series of new measures would be put in place in the next five to six months, without giving further details.
This expert has already made remarks in the past putting into perspective the successes of the “zero COVID” strategy adopted by the Beijing authorities, which consists of trying to contain each source of contamination, even minimal, by drastic measures of tracing and isolation.
Beyond their impact on Chinese economic activity, the repeated confinements imposed by this approach are causing growing discontent among the population.
Chinese financial markets have been buoyed this week by hopes that China will ease its approach amid rumors – fueled by an unverified document widely shared on social media – of an easing of restrictions in March 2023.
However, China’s national health commission said on Wednesday that China should continue to strictly adhere to the “zero COVID” strategy.
This strategy to fight the COVID-19 epidemic also involves a strict limitation of exchanges, with international flights always reduced to the bare minimum and mandatory quarantine, in addition to the PCR screening tests required before boarding but also upon arrival in China.
The length of the quarantine imposed on travelers upon arrival in China, which was halved to ten days last June, could soon be reduced to seven or eight days, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
With the new rules, arrivals on Chinese territory will have to carry out a so-called centralized quarantine of five days in a hotel or a dedicated center, accompanied by a supervised quarantine of two or three days at home.
A press conference on the prevention of the COVID-19 epidemic is scheduled for Saturday by the Chinese authorities.
(Report Beijing and Shanghai offices, with the contribution of Julie Zhu in Hong Kong and Stella Qiu in Sydney; French version Myriam Rivet, edited by Kate Entringer and Sophie Louet)