China has recently optimized its COVID-19 control measures to minimize their impact on people's normal life and economic activities. The following are some new measures being taken in different localities across the country.

Closed-off management lifted

On Wednesday, the southern city of Guangzhou lifted closed management measures temporarily imposed on several districts including Haizhu, Tianhe and Fanyu.

In the hardest-hit Haizhu district, closed-off management had been in place in most parts of the district for half a month.

The city said it will identify high-risk areas in a more precise way, which in principle will be restricted to only residential compounds and building units.

Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, lifted citywide closed management on Tuesday, ending a five-day "mobility management" period that brought the city to a standstill. Mobility restrictions are now only imposed in residential buildings deemed risky.

Chongqing, a city in Southwest China, is also easing epidemic measures in some non-infected communities as the city has curbed the fast rise of infections.

In Shijiazhuang, six districts including Qiaoxi, Chang'an and Yuhua started implementing differentiated epidemic control measures from Thursday to restore normal life and production.

Starting Thursday, buses and taxis are allowed to travel freely in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, as the city had "basically cleared" COVID cases at the community level. Previously, public transit vehicles were only allowed to operate within designated districts.

Mass testing reduced

Localities across the country have adopted more precise COVID testing measures.

After Guangzhou announced that certain groups such as homebound seniors, children and people working or studying from home will be no longer required to take part in nucleic acid screenings, similar practices have been applied in Beijing, Shenyang in Liaoning province, and Taiyuan of Shanxi province.

In Zhengzhou, low-risk areas no longer conduct mass testing. In Chongqing, local communities and neighborhoods without confirmed cases are exempt from mass testing.

Starting Friday, some shopping centers in Guangzhou that have resumed operations no longer require visitors to show a negative result of a COVID nucleic acid test, with only a green health code needed.

Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, also no longer requires residents to present a negative result of COVID test when taking public transport or entering public venues.