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China has unveiled measures for managing infectious disease outbreak alerts, introducing a four-tier risk classification system: ‌extremely low, low, medium and high risk‌.

The infectious disease outbreak alert management measures released by the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration consist of four parts, totaling 19 provisions, which clarify the objectives, scope of application and definitions, as well as the working principles and responsibilities, key process steps, operational mechanisms, policies and safeguards, the administration said. 

According to the measures, warning situations include public health risks stemming from, or potentially stemming from statutory infectious diseases, newly emerging infectious diseases, infectious diseases of unknown origins, and other key infectious diseases. Potentially affected populations, relevant departments and institutions must be alerted in advance to take preventive measures.

Disease control agencies at all levels must gather surveillance data from multiple channels, conduct risk assessments, identify public health threats, and classify outbreak risk levels into the four tiers, the measures said. 

Zhuang Shilihe, a Guangzhou-based medical expert, told the Global Times on Wednesday that China's introduction of a new four-tier risk classification for infectious diseases replaces the previous model reliant solely on alerts without clear gradation. The mechanism emphasizes tiered resource allocation and response measures to enhance precision in disease control, preventing both excessive reactions and inadequate containment stemming from a one-size-fits-all approach, he added

Zhuang said that the mechanism incorporates lessons learned from COVID-19, influenza, and other infectious disease responses. By aligning with international standards through pilot implementation, it aims to make containment measures more scientific and standardized.

For low, medium, or high risk, authorities will issue health advisories to the public, propose alert notifications to relevant agencies or regions, and submit early warning proposals to the government. 

For ‌extremely low risk‌, routine surveillance will continue without additional alerts.

In high-risk scenarios, disease control institutions at various levels must submit recommendations to issue infectious disease alerts and implement statutory measures to their corresponding disease control departments within two hours, the measures said. 

Upon receiving these recommendations, disease control departments must convene multidisciplinary risk assessment expert panels to analyze and evaluate epidemic risks, validate the risk assessment results provided by their affiliated institutions.

If government-issued alerts are deemed necessary, disease control departments must promptly submit written proposals to health authorities, enforce corresponding statutory measures, and simultaneously report to superior disease control and health departments. 

Disease control departments and institutions at all levels shall strengthen risk communication, collect alert response feedbacks from the public, healthcare institutions, and risk-associated departments, evaluate the effectiveness of alerts, and reissue alerts if expected outcomes are not achieved, the measures said. 

Zhuang said that the new mechanism minimizes implementation discrepancies by clarifying tiered directives, thereby enhancing precision in outbreak response, such as allowing local authorities and people to be more well prepared in the Chikungunya fever outbreaks in South China's Guangdong Province.

Guangdong Province has preliminarily brought its Chikungunya fever outbreak under control with 1,387 new cases reported over the past seven days, the Yangcheng Evening News reported on Sunday, down from close to 3,000 weekly new cases in previous two weeks.

Zhuang pointed out that the risk for an epidemic continues today, saying that global climate change has expanded mosquito breeding habitats, while increased international travel has intensified pressure on infectious disease control. 

The new mechanism centers on a "tiered response + targeted measures" system, avoiding blanket panic-driven controls while enabling effective actions tailored to specific risks. By clarifying measures for each risk level, it helps the public assess threats rationally and improves containment efficiency, Zhuang noted.