On the afternoon of December 7, Guangzhou held a COVID-19 Prevention and Control Press Conference to brief the latest epidemic situation in the city.

On December 6, Guangzhou reported 2,992 locally acquired COVID-19 cases. Meantime, 10,204 people were discharged from (makeshift) hospitals, among the total 105,038 discharged since the outbreak of this round of epidemic.

Zhang Yi, Deputy Director General of the Guangzhou Health Commission, said that Guangzhou will resolutely implement the latest 10 measures issued by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council. 

From now on, we will strictly implement the requirements of accurately delineating high-risk areas to buildings, units, floors and households; No temporary lockdown measures will be imposed; 

PCR testing is required for people in jobs with high risks of exposure or in high-risk areas in accordance with relevant regulations, and it is optional for other personnel; 

Health codes and negative PCR test results are not required except for special venues like nursing homes, welfare homes, medical institutions, kindergartens and primary and secondary schools; PCR testing upon arrival and three tests in the first three days are no longer required for people coming or returning to Guangzhou.

Close contacts, asymptomatic carriers and those with mild symptoms are suggested to undergo home quarantine if their home conditions permit, and they can also opt for centralized quarantine. The quarantine period of close contacts is shortened from "5+3" days to 5 days.

Zhang introduced that Guangzhou will continue to do a good job of epidemic prevention and control measures, actively build a full coverage and all-factor prevention and control system, maximize the protection of people's lives and health, and minimize the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development.

Efforts will be made to give play to primary-level medical institutions and family doctors as the "gatekeeper" of people's health. A hierarchical diagnosis and treatment mode will be established with primary diagnosis at the local level, flexible two-way referrals, separate treatment of acute and chronic diseases, and integration of efforts at all levels. Basic public health and medical services will be guaranteed for the elderly, patients with chronic diseases, children and other key groups. Medical services will be optimized by facilitating referral channels, and constantly improving the capacity of fever clinics and ICUs. Vaccination efforts will be ramped up among the elderly, with a focus on improving the vaccination rate among people aged 80 and above.

Ding Li, Deputy Director of the Guangzhou Administration for Market Regulation, said that from now on, residents no longer need to register their ID when buying the 37 drugs in the Drug Catalog for Registration During Epidemic online or offline in Guangzhou.

According to Ding, for medicines for cold, fever, and antivirus, which are in strong demand, the market regulation authorities will intensify scheduling to secure supply and mobilize producers and sellers to increase output and stock. At present, the production capacity of COVID-19 antigen testing kits in Guangzhou is over 10 million per day. Seven key pharmaceutical manufacturers in the city have stored over 10 million kits and raw materials for 30 days of production.

Cui Yanlun, Deputy Director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of Guangzhou Municipal Government, said that in the current outbreak, Guangzhou SASAC has made over 372,000 personnel dispatches around the city. It has been in charge of 11 controlled grids and assisted in logistics services for 16 makeshift hospital medical teams and almost 40,000 hospital beds.

Cui said that in November, municipal state-owned enterprises (SOEs) saw a month-on-month fall by 53.5% in the total local industrial output but a month-on-month increase by 10.2% in operating income. By now, municipal SOEs have basically resumed work and production in an all-round way. From January to November, Guangzhou saw a year-on-year increase by 9.2% in municipal SOEs' operating income; a year-on-year increase by 20.5% in the total output of local industrial enterprises with those annual revenue of RMB 20 million or more; and a year-on-year increase by 16.7% in research and development investment. From January to October, Guangzhou's SOEs undertook 212 key projects in the city. Their actual completed investment accounted for about a quarter of the city's total and their annual plans were completed 101.2%.

Zhu Xiaoyi, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee and Director of the Guangzhou Municipal Information Office, announced that from December 8, the Guangzhou press conference will turn into a regular press conference on social, economic, and livelihood dynamics.

According to Zhu, Guangzhou has held 44 COVID-19 prevention and control press conferences in the current outbreak since the first one on October 25, and a total of 564 since 2020.

"We would like to express special appreciation to residents that have paid attention on us and the current COVID-19 situation. Your opinions, suggestions, and criticisms have urged us to insist on releasing authoritative information in a timely manner," Zhu said.