The state-run ‘Communications Itinerary Card’, which tracked whether someone has been to a high-risk area based on their phone signal, went offline at 12 am Tuesday

In a move that is widely seen as China giving up its zero COVID strategy, the country on Tuesday retired an application used to track Covid-19 contacts.

China’s top infectious disease experts say new variants of coronavirus are transmitting faster than ever, but cause lower pathogenicity rate with virus attacking more on the upper respiratory tracts than lungs; also, most of those infected show mild or no symptoms.

The state-run “Communications Itinerary Card”, which tracked whether someone has been to a high-risk area based on their phone signal, went offline at 12 am Tuesday.

The card, a tracking app, was a central part of China’s zero-Covid policy. It would pose a huge barrier for local travel. Chinese citizens are really happy about its “demise.”

After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese citizens in 2020 used mobile apps tied to their health records to produce QR codes that would act as a passport for movement around town or between localities.

The development of the “health code” started in early 2020 with different regions developing their own codes, introducing different names and design features. By the end of 2020, the government urged people in different regions to recognize health codes of one another while allowing them to keep their own.

All health codes contain three modes: green, yellow, and red, generally signaling healthy, potential exposure to the virus, and COVID-positive, respectively.

A green health code is required in order to enter most establishments and public places such as airports, shopping malls, and hospitals.

China recently adjusted and optimized its COVID response by introducing10 new measures, including allowing asymptomatic carriers, mild COVID-19 patients and those who meet certain requirements to quarantine at home.