Chinese State Council Establishes Standardized Guidelines for Asymptomatic COVID-19 Cases... Reporting Within 2 Hours Required

Asymptomatic Infected Individuals Undergo Two Follow-up Tests After Isolation
Close Contacts of Asymptomatic Cases Also Quarantined for 14 Days
Contact Confirmation Service for Asymptomatic Cases Available via WeChat

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Young-shin] The Chinese State Council has established standardized guidelines for asymptomatic COVID-19 infections and distributed them to medical institutions nationwide, reported the Chinese state-run Global Times on the 9th. Asymptomatic infected individuals refer to those who test positive for COVID-19 but do not exhibit specific symptoms such as fever, cough, or sore throat.

The State Council has mandated that medical institutions nationwide report asymptomatic infections within 2 hours of confirmation. Additionally, investigations of asymptomatic cases must be completed within 24 hours, and the discharge date must be specified in the medical records.

Furthermore, the State Council requires asymptomatic infected individuals to be quarantined and observed for 14 days, with two follow-up tests conducted at 2 weeks and 4 weeks. People who have had close contact with asymptomatic infected individuals are also quarantined for 14 days. The State Council has instructed that domestic and imported asymptomatic infection cases be reported separately, according to the Global Times.

Kai Zhangnan, Director of the Healthcare Center at the China Europe International Business School, evaluated, "This measure by the Chinese government can prevent new large-scale infections caused by asymptomatic carriers."

It is interpreted that the State Council announced these measures in response to ongoing concerns about asymptomatic infections. Zhang Boli, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, stated, "The current epidemic prevention and control measures implemented in China can detect and control asymptomatic infections in a timely manner, making the likelihood of new epidemic outbreaks low."

The Global Times reported that regional health authorities in China are conducting COVID-19 nucleic acid and serological tests on recovered patients. The newspaper also added that a service allowing Chinese people to directly check for contact with asymptomatic infected individuals has been added to WeChat.