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Exiting Zero-Covid: China’s Provincial Covid-19 Rules Tracker
Photo: Trustee Chair
Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics > Trustee China Hand
By Trustee Chair
On December 7, China’s State Council announced a new ten-point plan to address Covid-19, accelerating the country’s shift away from its zero-tolerance stance. The next day, the central government released a guideline for home-based care for Covid-19 patients. While there is nationwide policy guidance, many provinces and cities have been enacting their own measures, exiting Zero-Covid at different paces.
To gain a real-time understanding of local policies, the Trustee Chair presents here an interactive map to track the rollback measures introduced in each Chinese province. Responding to the national ten-point plan, more than two thirds of provinces have announced localized strategies since December 7.
Our map shows how many and what rollback measures are being introduced to exit Zero-Covid in each province. We regularly monitor provincial and municipal announcements on Chinese media and social media to update the data. As provinces introduce more measures, their color goes from light yellow to dark blue. Please click on each province to see the list of specific rollback measures.
For comparison, we also include here the original map, which shows the number of rollback measures across provinces as of December 8.
Key Parts of Provinces’ Rollback Strategies
Stop temporary lockdown
Several provinces announced they are scaling back quarantine measures and specifically promised to stop temporary lockdowns in neighborhoods.
Reduce or stop mass testing
Eight provinces announced province-wide measures replacing mandatory mass testing with voluntary testing. In some other provinces, like Zhejiang, several cities have led the efforts to abandon mass testing at the municipal level.
Reduce checking of Covid-19 test results
As their cities scale back mass testing, many residents are no longer required to present a negative testing result to access public spaces and public transportation. In Guangzhou, people are no longer required to test every 72 hours to qualify for a green code.
Ease restrictions on cold medicine purchase
In many cities, people are no longer required to show ID or present a negative test result to buy cold and cough medicine.
Ease process for domestic travel
Across provinces, authorities have begun to make it easier for people to travel domestically by reducing Covid-19 mobility restrictions. For example, to enter Beijing airports’ terminals, travelers are no longer required to present a test result or their health code, though venues inside the airports may still have checkpoints.
The Trustee Chair will closely monitor changes across Chinese provinces and keep updating this map. Follow us on Twitter at @CSISCBE to get the latest updates.
