Chongqing in Southwest China lowered its public health emergency response to the COVID-19 epidemic from the second-highest level to the third level, according to municipal government officials on March 24.

The government announced at a news conference that, since 24:00 March 24, those who return to Chongqing from other parts of the country, holding health QR codes or health certificates, will no longer be quarantined.

Except for residential areas and residential buildings, where there are still people isolated for medical observation at home, the closed management of other residential areas and residential buildings is set to be cancelled.

According to officials, since Feb 25 Chongqing has had 28 consecutive days of no new added COVID-19 cases. On March 15, the number of locally confirmed cases and hospitalized cases in Chongqing was all cleared.

On March 20, all districts and counties in Chongqing were adjusted to the low risk level according to the national classification criteria. Following careful consideration, Chongqing government made the decision to downgrade the emergency response level.

Officials said that after the adjustment, the focus of epidemic prevention and control in Chongqing will change from a total blockade to a targeted blockade. It will continue to strictly prevent the importation of the epidemic from overseas and key domestic areas.

People who come to and return to Chongqing from countries and regions with a severe epidemic situation -- and those who have lived in countries and regions with a severe epidemic situation in the past 14 days -- shall be subject to centralized medical observation for 14 days.

Those arriving in Chongqing from non-epidemic countries and regions shall be offered medical observation at home or centralized quarantine for 14 days. People who come to Chongqing from other regions of China, who have health QR codes or health certificates, shall no longer be isolated for medical observation.

Temperature measurements are still required when passing through or entering traffic quarantine points, airports, railway stations, wharfs, bus stations, light rail stations, medical institutions -- but temperature measurements are generally no longer required in other places.