Image Source: Visual China

BEIJING, March 18 (TMTPOST) — China will continue to stick to its dynamic zero-covid policy in curbing the spread of Covid-19, the country’s National Health Commission said at a press release on Friday.

Covid-19 has been resurging in several regions in China with communal transmissions. The National Health Commission had said at the press release that relevant authorities should strengthen their efforts in guiding the prevention and control of the pandemic and ensure transmissions can be detected, quarantined and treated in a timely fashion.

China’s dynamic zero-Covid policy aims to reduce the number of transmission cases in the country to zero through a set of pandemic control and prevention measures, such as quarantining close contacts, locking down residential communities with transmissions and imposing travel restrictions, etc.

Although China has decided to continue its dynamic zero-Covid policy, more flexible measures have been allowed by the authorities. Now residents in China can purchase Covid-19 self-test kits from online platforms and test themselves at home, an option that was previously not available in the country. The National Health Commission confirmed at the press release that residents do not need to register a case when purchasing Covid-19 antigen self-test kits. Residents who are tested positive will need to report their local community immediately, the commission said. The community should arrange transportation for shuttling patients from their community to a medical facility to confirm the test result.

The National Health Commission also said at the press release that more types of Covid-19 vaccines will be rolled out to help strengthen immunity to the virus. The commission noted that the elder population in the country has not been fully vaccinated. Around 211 million Chinese residents that are more than 60 years old are fully vaccinated. China has an elder population (over 60 years old) of 264 million. According to the commission, only 50.7% of the elder population of over 80 years old are fully vaccinated.