CHINA / SOCIETY
Changing people's health codes for reasons other than epidemic control forbidden: National Health Commission
Published: Jun 25, 2022 01:03 AM
Staff check passengers' health codes and nucleic acid test results at a railway station in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, on May 4. Photo: VCG

Staff check passengers' health codes and nucleic acid test results at a railway station in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, on May 4. Photo: VCG


An official from China's National Health Commission (NHC) emphasized on Friday that it is absolutely forbidden for local governments to change people's health QR codes for reasons other than epidemic prevention and control. 

The statement came after five officials from Zhengzhou, in Central China's Henan Province were punished for abusing the health code system. Early this month, some depositors at small rural banks registered in Henan and reportedly caught in illegal fundraising, found their health codes had turned red for unknown reasons when they arrived in Henan to withdraw their money, prompting suspicions about abuse of the health code system in the province.

Lei Zhenglong, deputy head of the NHC's Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control, made the statement at a press briefing on Friday. Lei was asked about the scope of abuse of the health code, and whether the NHC is concerned that the case in Zhengzhou may undermine public trust in China's epidemic prevention policies.

He noted that under the joint prevention and control mechanism of China's State Council, regulations on the use and management of health codes, operation guarantee and information security have been clarified. The mechanism also requires local governments to accurately assign health codes to people in accordance with different epidemic risk levels, avoiding the "one-size-fits-all" model and imposing extra regulations at each level. 

Under the mechanism, the functions of the health code are strictly defined, and its scope of application should not be expanded without authorization, and it is absolutely forbidden for local governments to change people's health QR code status for reasons other than epidemic prevention and control, Lei noted. 

The official said the health code system plays an important role in the identification and management of COVID-risk clusters, and is also an important tool to ensure people's safe and orderly travel.

In recent days, the number of newly infected people in China has dropped to below 40 per day, with an average of 28 cases reported per day in the past three days (June 21-23), the lowest number reported so far this month, according to data from the NHC.  

NHC spokesperson Mi Feng said on Friday that in the past week, the epidemic situation across China has continued to improve, with the number of newly confirmed domestically transmitted cases dropping by 81.6 percent from the previous week.