China cements lockdown rules even as it eases travel quarantine

BEIJING • China's revised Covid-19 guidelines that cut quarantine in half for inbound travellers also created a standardised policy for mass testing and lockdowns when cases flare up, showing the country still has a zero-tolerance approach to the virus.

President Xi Jinping solidified the position on Tuesday during a trip to Wuhan, where the pathogen was first reported in 2019, saying that China is capable of achieving a "final victory" over the coronavirus.

The zero-Covid-19 policy is the most effective and economic approach for the country, he said.

The update of the National Health Commission's protocol sparked increased demand for travel, with some analysts saying it may signal the start of China's withdrawal from its zero-Covid-19 approach. But a closer reading of the document shows that it is codifying critical Covid-19 policies and laying the groundwork for faster, more extensive deployment of testing and lockdowns.

Even with cutting quarantine time to 10 days from as long as three weeks, China remains one of the hardest countries to enter.

"As long as 'dynamic zero' remains the overall guiding principle, new outbreaks pose serious risks to the economy," said Mr Louis Kuijs, Asia Pacific chief economist at S&P Global Ratings.

The move further consolidates China's zero-Covid-19 strategy and explains how officials are expected to deal with the virus.

"It is not loosening control. The goal is to be more scientific and accurate," said National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng.

The guidelines detail testing and control measures for different levels of risks.

In "high risk" areas, where Covid-19 has been detected in neighbourhoods or workplaces, people are strictly banned from leaving their homes.

The level will be downgraded to "middle risk" after the area has been deemed virus-free for a week and everyone tests negative on the seventh day.

Another three days of zero infections will put the area in the "low risk" category.

For large cities, including provincial capitals and places with more than 10 million residents, mass testing should be conducted every day in virus-hit areas, stopping only when no community cases are found for three days in a row.

Residents should undergo another round of tests three days later, ending only if there are still no new infections.

The standardised rules are also aimed at preventing the local authorities from intensifying curbs on their own, a common phenomenon as officials fear angering Beijing by failing to execute zero-Covid-19 policies.

The rules were almost immediately put to the test, as 15 infections in central Anhui province led to the lockdown of one county with 760,000 people yesterday.

Shanghai and Beijing, which battled recent outbreaks, both reported no new local infections for Monday. On Tuesday, the financial hub reported zero cases, while the capital saw one new infection.

Nationwide, there were 39 Covid-19 cases reported for Tuesday, maintaining low levels not seen since February.

BLOOMBERG