Beijing, China

Chinese authorities might come up with 10 new COVID-19 easing measures as early as Wednesday, news agency Reuters reported citing sources. The report comes after China started relaxing some of the strict restrictions in the aftermath of public outrage and massive protests in different parts of the nation. 

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Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources told the news agency on Monday, that the management of the disease may be downgraded as soon as January, to the less strict Category B from the current top-level Category A of infectious disease. 

China has classified Covid as a Category B infectious disease since January 2020, but it has managed it under Category A protocols. The authorities have given local authorities the power to quarantine patients and their close contacts and lock down regions. 

In China, category A covers diseases such as bubonic plague and cholera. Category B groups SARS, AIDS and anthrax. Category C deals with diseases such as influenza, leprosy and mumps. 

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However, The National Health Commission has not confirmed the Reuters report so far. 

WATCH | China: Protesters in China angered against Xi’s Zero Covid policy 

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China, a country where the first known case of Covid was reported in late 2019, adopted a "zero-Covid" policy to curb the spread of the deadly virus. 

The so-called "zero-Covid" policy included mass testing and phased lockdowns, but it caused huge losses to the Chinese economy. 

Not just China's economy, the policy also cost its role as the world's workshop. Market leaders urged Beijing to relax some of the rules when restrictions impacted production. 

But recent reports have suggested that China is all set to let go of the "zero-Covid" policy, but the rise in cases is alarming and the authorities also faced the daunting task of handling the Covid protesters.

China on Saturday called the virus no more serious than a "seasonal cold" and urged the public not to panic. 

 As quoted by the South China Morning Post report, Tang Xiaoping, the director of the No 8 People's Hospital in Guangzhou, said: "The virulence of the new coronavirus [Omicron] has now evolved to the level of the seasonal flu, and some are even less virulent than the flu, so you really don’t need to panic."

Tang is also the head of the national key clinical department of infectious diseases. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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