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Covid-19 in China: time to limit mask mandates, respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan says
- Zhong says extended use of face coverings does not encourage development of natural resistance to disease, particularly in children
- Any future coronavirus waves likely to be local outbreaks, he says
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Vanessa Caiin Shanghai
China should do away with mandatory mask wearing in most places despite the risk of an outbreak of Covid-19 cases caused by the highly transmissible XBB Omicron subvariant, according to one of the country’s top respiratory disease experts.
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Zhong Nanshan told a seminar at his research institution Guangzhou Lab on Friday there could be a new wave of infections in China but it would probably be limited in scale at the local level.
Zhong also said mask wearing should be scrapped in general from April, saying masks were necessary only in a select group of public places such as hospitals.
“If people wear a mask for a long time – especially children ... it is not conducive to the development of natural resistance to disease,” Zhong said.
Masks are no longer mandatory at universities, primary and middle schools and kindergartens, according to a directive jointly issued last month by the Ministry of Education, the National Health Commission and the National Administration of Disease Control and Prevention
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Some cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Nanjing, no longer require people to wear masks on the subway, according to media reports.
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