A significant step in the nation’s swift departure from its zero-tolerance coronavirus stance, China said on Monday that it would discontinue a Covid-19 contact tracking app.
An official WeChat post states that after more than two years of use, the government-run “Communications Itinerary Card,” which determines whether someone has visited a high-risk location based on their phone signal, would be discontinued at 12 am Tuesday.
Millions of individuals had to enter their phone numbers into the “Itinerary Card,” which produced its distinctive green arrow, in order to move across provinces or enter events, which was a significant component of China’s zero-Covid policy.
Only a few days prior, China declared the termination of widespread lockdowns, the requirement of quarantine in central facilities, and a general relaxation of testing restrictions, thereby abandoning its zero-Covid approach.
Although the number of officially recorded cases in the nation has significantly decreased from all-time highs last month, leading Chinese health expert Zhong Nanshan issued a warning in state media on Sunday that the predominant Omicron type was “spreading swiftly” throughout the nation.
The Itinerary Card was modified several times before a final revision this year decreased the tracking period from 14 to seven days. The Itinerary Card was first introduced in 2020 with a four-tier system that allocated different colours depending on users’ projected levels of Covid exposure.
