China's COVID-19 control measures may change further as the pandemic evolves, a researcher from China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

China announced 20 prevention and control measures on Friday to further optimize the COVID-19 response, which will result in a shorter quarantine period for individuals.

The measures are based on "new characteristics of the virus" and "statistical proof gathered from real-world control works," CDC Researcher Wang Liping said on Saturday at a regular press conference of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council.

"These measure updates don't mean that we no longer need quarantine," she added.

Her messages were echoed by Mi Feng, spokesperson for the National Health Commission. "The new measures are updates to the existing policies and don't mean we are giving up on COVID-19 control," he said.

China has released nine versions of control guidelines for the novel coronavirus since the pandemic began.

"We take every step with extreme care," Mi said. "All the updates to control measures are discussed by experts to make sure the risk is under control."

Mi said the new updates will solve the bottleneck problems in some areas like the lack of quarantine beds.