Shenzhen has decided to adopt classified COVID-19 control measures from 12:01 a.m. today as the number of new COVID cases detected in communities has seen a significant decline so far, according to a press conference held last night.

The temporary control measures for COVID prevention and control will be lifted if there were no community COVID cases found in subdistricts for three consecutive days from Friday to yesterday.

In subdistricts where there were community COVID cases found between Friday and yesterday, the temporary control measures will be postponed for three days from the date of the last positive case reported. Since Nanyuan Subdistrict in Futian District has a relatively large number of new positive cases, it will continue to implement management as a medium-risk area.

In subdistricts where temporary control measures are imposed, all residents are required to stay at home except when they take nucleic acid tests, take out garbage, seek emergency medical treatment and collect deliveries. All deliverymen are not allowed to enter housing compounds and urban villages, and takeaways and packages should be placed at designated collection locations.

All buses and Metro services will be suspended in the subdistricts with temporary control measures in force.

Lin Hancheng, a senior health official from the municipal health commission, said at the conference that although the city’s COVID situation is complex at present, the overall situation is turning for the better.

In another development, Lu Hongzhou, president of the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, said at a press conference Saturday that the fast-spreading Omicron subvariant BA.5 has stronger replication and transmission abilities than its close relative BA.2.

“Studies also showed that the BA.5 subvariant can enter a host cell within a few minutes. Once it infects the cells in the upper respiratory tract, it replicates exponentially. After 12-24 hours, it releases mature virus particles in the infected cells, which is commonly referred to as viral shedding and can spread through droplets,” Lu said.