China has shortened mandatory quarantine time for recovered COVID-19 patients to save much-needed medical resources for severe cases, a renowned infectious diseases expert told a press conference organized by the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality on Thursday.

In a recent adjustment to its anti-pandemic plan, China augmented its COVID-19 testing capability by approving rapid self-test kits to curb outbreaks in a faster and scientific manner as daily local cases in the country topped 1,000 last week.

Zhang Wenhong, head of the Center for Infectious Diseases with the Shanghai-based Huashan Hospital of Fudan University, said the plan has been revised to optimize medical resources management. He said the country aims to employ "three weapons" to tackle COVID-19: high vaccination rate, effective medications to treat the virus, and abundant medical resources for emergencies.

China's National Health Commission on Tuesday released the revised plan, which calls for only quarantining mild cases instead of admitting them in the hospital unless the conditions worsen.

Recovered patients are now only required to monitor their health in a seven-day home quarantine besides taking a COVID-19 test after leaving hospital, Zhang said. Previously, a 14-day quarantine at designated places was mandatory.

Given the measures, the average hospital stay in Shanghai is expected to be shortened to 10 days from 15, according to Zhang.