Across country, some exempt from COVID testing

Some regions across the country have adopted COVID testing policies aiming for more precise and human-oriented epidemic screening and intervention.

On Nov 27 and 28, the Yuexiu and Liwan districts of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, announced that certain population groups, including the homebound elderly, students taking daily online classes and home officers, are exempt from mass screening to reduce infection risks.

The Chongqing Health Commission announced at a Saturday news conference that local communities and neighborhoods without confirmed cases will be excluded from the latest three rounds of nucleic acid testing.

To curb the latest outbreak, four districts in Chongqing — Yuzhong, Jiulongpo, Jiangbei and Yubei — and three counties have conducted universal or partial regional testing. Notably, streets and townships with no confirmed cases, as well as communities with no positive cases for five consecutive days in positive streets and towns, are exempt from the testing.

In Zhengzhou, Henan province, health officials at a Friday epidemic intervention news conference that low risk areas would no longer conduct mass testing.

In Harbin, Heilongjiang province, a similar announcement has been issued by local authorities. Starting on Tuesday, home-bound elderly people, students who take online classes at home and those without social activities are exempt from mass testing.

Wang Songsong contributed to this story.