The Communist Party of China (CCP) declared a “decisive victory” for the country in the fight against Covid-19 on Friday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
After a meeting chaired by the party’s secretary general, Xi Jinping, the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPC, China’s highest power, described the work of preventing the pandemic in the Asian country as an “extraordinary journey”, in in which “people and their lives were prioritized”, through “effective coordination between the response to the pandemic and economic and social development”.
At the end of 2022, China began to dismantle the highly restrictive measures that had been in force for almost three years in the country, within the framework of the policy of zero cases of Covid-19′, which included the blockade of cities, for weeks or months. , carrying out nucleic acid tests almost daily and the practically total closure of borders.
The sudden end of the zero-case policy came after protests held in several cities in China. The lifting of restrictions, without mitigation strategies or adequate preparation of the health system, left families fighting for the survival of their elderly, residents of different cities in China told the Lusa news agency, while a wave of infections flooded hospitals and city crematoriums. country.
The PCC’s governing body said that following the end of the zero-case policy, a “smooth transition” followed, accomplished in a “relatively short time,” resulting in the “lowest Covid-19 death rate in the world.” ”. .
“China created a miracle in human history in which a populous nation managed to overcome a pandemic,” the Chinese leaders wrote. “It was thus demonstrated that the PCC correctly judged the pandemic situation and that it adopted the appropriate measures and adjustments in prevention strategies,” they added.
The governing body also called for “efforts to improve the capacity to monitor and respond to Covid-19” and warned of the dangers posed by the virus, which “continues to mutate and spread across the planet”, in addition to recommending “scientific analysis”. . planning” for the next phase of the pandemic.
Chinese hospitals recorded 83,150 deaths from Covid-19 infection between December 8, when China began to dismantle the zero Covid strategy, and February 9, according to data released this week by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). from the Asian country. .
Experts say, however, that the mortality data is “certainly short” of reality.
“The data is certainly an underestimate of the true number,” Ben Cowling, an epidemiologist and statistician in the medical field, told Lusa, noting that laboratory tests to detect the virus “are no longer frequently performed in hospitals.” Therefore, “the majority of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from the disease [na China] They have not been laboratory confirmed.
Source: TSF
