China should change the name of COVID-19 in order to reflect its mutation. Patients with mild symptoms should be allowed quarantine at home, according to a leading authority in traditional Chinese medicine.

Gu Xiaohong stated to the Beijing Daily newspaper that the Chinese name for coronavirus, which is a disease that causes pneumonia, should be changed and it should be called an infectious virus.

China’s COVID approach – which has emphasized widespread testing and the quarantining positive cases in specialised facilities, should shift from “passive detection to active prevention”, with recuperation at-home for light cases.

Gu stated that the China Association of Chinese Medicine’s infectious diseases arm had reached a consensus on how to describe the virus.

These remarks align with recent changes in tone by Chinese health experts and state media toward COVID. Authorities have also relaxed some of the most stringent COVID restrictions around the world.

Many people believe that these moves will signal a greater shift to normalcy three-years after the pandemic.

Officials are beginning to downplay the risks posed by this virus. Monday’s commentary by Xinhua, an official news agency, stated that the “most difficult phase” had ended. It cited the weakening of the virus and the efforts to vaccinate 90%.