China's national health authority said on Wednesday that asymptomatic Covid 19 cases and people with mild symptoms can be quarantined at home, the strongest sign that China is preparing its people to live with the disease.
Most cases of infection with the coronavirus are asymptomatic or mild with no special treatment required, the National Health Commission said in a statement.
Asymptomatic persons and mild cases can be isolated at home while strengthening health monitoring, and they can transfer to designated hospitals for treatment in a timely manner if their condition worsens, the NHC said.
For nearly three years, China has managed Covid 19 as a dangerous disease, similar to the Bubonic plague and cholera, but top officials have acknowledged the reduced ability of the virus to cause disease, while some Chinese experts suggest it is no more deadly than seasonal influenza.
The NHC said that the change in the quarantine protocols reflects changes in prevention and control measures based on the characteristics of the virus mutations.
Home isolation for the infected is a significant change in the rules.
Earlier in the year, whole communities were locked down, sometimes for weeks, after only one positive case was found. The new, less strict quarantine rules required the lockdown of affected buildings last month.
The NHC said that high-risk areas should be defined by building, unit, floor and household, and must not be arbitrarily extended to entire residential compounds and communities.
The health authority urged localities to change one-size fits-all, add additional measures for Covid prevention and to reject formalism and bureaucracy. The NHC released 20 new guidelines on November 11 that were aimed at optimising Covid prevention and control protocols.
The protocols - published in late June - aimed at preventing the import of infections from overseas and curbing domestic rebounds while bringing cases down to zero as and when they emerge, the latest version of the protocols was published in late June.
The last edition of the epidemic control protocols should be adhered to while implementing the latest measures and guidelines, as did not mention the zero-tolerance approach to Covid, according to the NHC on Wednesday.