China should change its official name for Covid-19 to reflect the mutation of the virus, and patients with mild symptoms should be allowed to quarantine at home, a leading traditional Chinese medicine expert said . Gu Xiaohong told the state-run Beijing Daily that the Chinese name for the coronavirus, which identifies it as a disease that causes pneumonia, should be changed to simply call it an infectious virus.
The expert also said that China’s approach to Covid should change from “passive detection” to “active prevention” with recuperation at home for mild cases. As part of its Zero-Covid strategy, China has emphasized widespread testing and quarantining of positive cases in specialized facilities. Gu Xiaohong said the Infectious Diseases branch of the Chinese Association of Chinese Medicine, which she leads, reached a consensus to change the way they describe the virus. The remarks come as China eases Covid restrictions – some of the strictest in the world – in a bid to move towards normalcy three years after the pandemic.
Officials have begun to play down the danger posed by the virus after protests across China against Covid curbs. Chinese state media reported that the country could optimize epidemic prevention and control measures next year as it seeks to better coordinate policy with economic and social development following a meeting of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo.
