Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Omicron shows China got it right on Covid-19 strategy, top expert says

Omicron shows China got it right on Covid-19 strategy, top expert says

Wuhan lockdown was landmark decisive move that drastically contained the spread of the coronavirus in China, Zhong Nanshan says.

Foreign nations should realise by now that China’s so-called over the top approach in handling the pandemic was the correct one, the country’s top respiratory expert has said, as the Omicron variant spreads around the world at record-breaking pace.

The remarks from Zhong Nanshan, China’s No 1 epidemiologist who helped shape its Covid-19 response, came as he reviewed the pandemic in the country over the past two years.

While it was unrealistic to confirm human to human transmission of the new coronavirus within two weeks of its being first identified in Wuhan, the one decisive move that drastically contained its spread was locking down the city, Zhong told a medical conference in Guangzhou on Saturday.

Covid-19 reached its peak in China during the first two weeks of the pandemic in January and February 2020 but subsided another two weeks later, with the country reporting more than 80,000 cases and a death rate of 4 per cent during that one-month period, Zhong said.

The total number of Chinese patients diagnosed with Covid-19 was about 120,000, he said.

“For some countries, their daily cases alone would exceed 100,000. We managed to keep the additional cases to only 40,000 over the past 20 months. This is stable and persistent [policy] that has allowed economic activity to resume as normal,” Zhong told the conference in the Guangdong provincial capital.

He also hailed China’s success in containing the coronavirus, attributing this to early identification, diagnosis, quarantine, immediate treatment and vaccination coverage.

“Rapid testing played a critical role for [helping] China to obtain such a remarkable pandemic victory,” Zhong said, adding that universal vaccination played a key role.

Nearly 1.2 billion of China’s 1.4 billion people have been fully vaccinated so far.

As the Omicron variant spreads across the world at an alarming rate, China is not prepared to loosen its grip ahead of the Lunar New Year starting February 1.

China’s top respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan.


In view of sporadic outbreaks around the country, most local authorities have advised residents to avoid travel over the holidays unless absolutely necessary. Citizens have also been told to avoid banquets and festive celebrations involving large crowds.

In Zhengzhou, the capital of central Henan province, incoming domestic travellers are required to quarantine for at least 14 days, while in Nanjing, in Jiangsu province, travellers must present negative PCR test results before they are allowed in or out of some of the medium- and high-risk districts of the capital city.

The eastern coastal province of Zhejiang has been battling a recent Covid-19 outbreak across several cities, believed to be mainly driven by the Delta strain.

China’s National Health Commission reported 89 new local confirmed cases as of Friday, with 77 of those concentrated in Zhejiang.

That included 69 confirmed cases in Shaoxing alone, and four cases each in Ningbo and Hangzhou.

Fujian province, Inner Mongolia and Shanghai had one case each, while Shaanxi province reported seven.

The two remaining cases were detected in Dongguan, in southern Guangdong province.

All eyes are on Dongguan as Hong Kong and the mainland finalise details of a quarantine-free border reopening mechanism. With the two new cases reported on Friday, confirmed Covid-19 cases in the southern manufacturing hub rose to 11 over the past week. Repeated rounds of mass testing are under way in the city of 10.5 million to stop the further spread of the virus.

National pandemic control experts have been dispatched to both Guangdong and Shaanxi.

Meanwhile, another 36 imported cases have been reported across the nation, with a third of them identified in Shanghai and five in Guangdong. China currently has 547 imported positive cases.

China’s “dynamic zero-Covid strategy” aims to control outbreaks as quickly as possible through mass testing and restrictions on movement and transport.

But the country continues to see sporadic waves of infections, some caused by cases coming in from border regions.

China has reported two Omicron cases so far, both of them imported. The first one was detected in the northern city of Tianjin and the second in Guangzhou.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
×