Conditions have been in place to downgrade China's management from Class B infectious disease with Class A management to Class B infectious disease with Class B management, Liang Wannian, head of the COVID-19 response expert panel under China's National Health Commission (NHC), told China Media Group.

"Now some of the key factors have changed. In this case, we have taken into account all aspects of the factors to better coordinate epidemic prevention and control with social and economic development, focus on key prevention and control areas and measures, and carry out epidemic prevention and control measures more scientifically," Liang said.

Starting from January 8, China will downgrade management of COVID-19 from Class A to Class B in accordance with the country's law on prevention and treatment of infectious disease, said a statement released by the NHC on Monday.

Currently, COVID-19 is classified as a Class B infectious disease but is subject to the preventive and control measures for a Class A infectious disease in China.

Basic conditions have been in place to make dynamic adjustments to COVID-19 management, according to Liang.

He said that China has always adopted classified management and dynamic adjustment for the prevention and control of infectious diseases, and scientific management in accordance with the law has always been the basic principle for China to deal with infectious diseases.

The classification of an infectious disease is made based on comprehensive consideration of a series of factors, such as the characteristics of the pathogen, the characteristics of the disease, the transmission speed and scope, its harm to people's life and health, its impact on the society and economy, population immunity, and the prevention and treatment capacity of the health system, Liang said.

He added that as these factors change, the classification of the infectious disease will be adjusted, and the prevention and control strategies and measures will be optimized accordingly.

"When this disease [COVID-19] was discovered in its early stages, we did not know much about it, neither the characteristics of the virus nor the epidemiological characteristics of the disease, including its harm to life and health. Plus, we didn't have all the effective resistance capabilities, such as immunity in our population and so on," Liang said. 

"Under such circumstances, because of the sudden appearance and threatening nature of the disease, the government classified it as a Class B infectious disease and implemented Class A management, which was quite correct. Practices have also proved that the measures have achieved good results, effectively protecting the life and health of the people," he said.

Currently, the conditions are ripe to adjust the management measures for COVID-19, as the virus mutation, the development of the epidemic and many other factors have changed, said Liang.