The strategy of ‘zero cases’ of Covid-19 continues to be economically “more rational” for China than coexistence with the coronavirus, the health authorities of the Asian country assured this Thursday, quoted by the state press.
Chinese policy is the “most scientific way to stop Covid-19, as the pandemic continues to spread around the world, creating new risks,” said Chang Jile, deputy director of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Chinese approach is to “quickly detect new outbreaks and contain the spread at the lowest possible cost,” Chang described.
This includes isolating all positive cases and direct contacts in designated facilities, locking down entire districts and cities, and conducting mass testing.
China has also kept the borders practically closed since March 2020, with connections to areas reduced to less than 2%, compared to 2019. Whoever travels to the country must complete at least seven days of quarantine in a hotel designated by the authorities.
Chang argued that China’s strategy ensures “the normalization of production and the safety of people across the country, and stable supply chains.”
The official called for “determination” in the face of the pandemic, which he said is still at a “high level, with new variants and knowledge about the virus still ongoing.”
Chang also announced “optimization of control measures” based on the “current situation,” saying “containment policies will be balanced with social and economic development.”
In recent months, China has suffered outbreaks attributed to Omicron, a variant considered highly contagious, which have caused record numbers of cases in the country.
The outbreaks led to the two-month closure of Shanghai, the country’s financial “capital”, and major industrial cities such as Changchun and Guangzhou, with a heavy impact on the services, manufacturing and logistics sectors.
The authorities recently decreed the total confinement of Chengdu, a city of more than 20 million inhabitants, and the partial blockade of Guiyang and Shenzhen.
According to official accounts, 5,226 have died in the country from the new coronavirus, since the first cases were detected in the city of Wuhan, in central China, at the end of 2019.
Source: TSF
