Instead, authorities will shift the focus of work from preventing infection to health protection and preventing severe disease, it said.
The abrupt U-turn is especially stunning in Chongqing, one of China’s largest cities, with 32 million residents and annual GDP of $400 billion.
Jerry Cheng, who works at a state-owned construction company in the city and is currently Covid positive, voiced concerns about the announcement.
Cheng’s anxiety was reflected on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, on Monday as Chongqing residents reacted to the announcement.
More than a million residents were told not to leave the city unless absolutely necessary, and several rounds of daily mass testing were rolled out.