Via Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (gated):
- China considers downgrading Covid’s status to remove need for strict controls
- Beijing has been laying increasing stress on the milder nature of Omicron and some cities have already started easing their rules
- One official said the downgrading of the disease – putting it on a par with HIV and viral hepatitis – could happen as soon as Wednesday
COVID is listed in the top tier of infectious diseases in China. Downgradings its listing would allow Covid-19 be managed more flexibly and in a less disruptive way, such as relieving local governments of the legal obligations to introduce strong controls such as lockdowns and isolating positive cases.
