China will continue to refine measures against Covid-19

China will continue to refine its control measures Covid-19 to try to minimize contagion and serious cases, authorities said on Saturday, a day after the unexpected announcements he made to mitigate the impact of his strict policy.

The authorities announced these measures, applauded by the financial markets, despite the increase in infections to their highest level since the end of April, according to data published on Saturday, with outbreaks in key cities such as beijingGuangzhou and Chongqing.

Friday’s easing measures included easing quarantines for travelers arriving in the country and those in close contact with infected people. Quarantines were reduced by two days, up to eight, while the first five days will be spent in a centralized care center.

China’s stringent measures have impacted the world’s second-largest economy, hurting industrial activity and frustrating residents with lockdowns, quarantines, frequent testing and travel disruptions.

“As new variants of the virus appear, as our knowledge of the disease deepens, and the epidemic situation changes both at home and abroad, we do not rule out the possibility of further optimizing and adjusting our quarantine measures.” Wang Liping, a researcher at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news conference in Beijing.

China will stop trying to identify “secondary” contacts, a practice that dragged many urban residents into contact tracing efforts after a case was found, while continuing to identify close contacts, authorities said Friday.

The measures will alleviate bottlenecks, including a shortage of quarantine rooms and contact tracing workers, Lei Haichao, deputy head of the National Health Commission (NHC), said at the briefing.

China will stick with a prevention-oriented approach to achieve “the fewest possible number of infections, the fewest possible number of serious and critical cases,” Lei said, noting that China has far fewer hospital beds per capita than developed countries.

The NHC reported 11,950 new Covid infections on Friday, a low number by global standards but up from 10,729 cases the day before.

Goldman Sachs said it continued to see downside risks to China’s economic growth in the near term, as several large cities reported rising case numbers, calling the measures “marginal in terms of economic impact.”

“However, the signal is that the leadership is preparing for a three-year exit from zero Covid policy sometime next year,” the investment bank said in a note on Friday, predicting that the most likely period it was after the parliamentary meetings in March.