Starting from Jan. 8, China will downgrade management of the disease from Class A to Class B in accordance with the country’s law on prevention and treatment of infectious disease, and remove it from quarantinable infectious disease management carried out in accordance with the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of the People’s Republic of China, added the statement.
Chinese health authorities announced late on Monday that they have decided to immediately rename the term “novel coronavirus pneumonia” to “novel coronavirus infection” and downgrade the management of the disease from category A to category B starting Jan 8.
The downgrade means that infected cases will no longer be put in isolation and their close contacts will no longer be tracked, the National Health Commission said.
Authorities will drop quarantine measures against people infected with novel coronavirus and stop identifying close contacts or designating high-risk and low-risk areas, said the document.
In addition, disease control measures targeting incoming travelers and imported cargo will be lifted, the commission said.