China on Wednesday announced a 10-point program of substantially further easing its Covid prevention and control measures, as Asia Times had predicted in a November 29 exclusive. The new guidelines drawn up by the State Council Covid task force were published on the National Health Commission’s website.
Asia Times wrote in the November 29 report, “Events have prodded China to speed up the schedule for a shift of Covid focus to treatment rather than prevention, according to sources close to the State Council leadership. The sources have reaffirmed to Asia Times that decisions reached just prior to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China to relax Covid controls have not changed. Indeed, preparations for the change have been underway since early October.”