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China announces 'great and decisive victory' in controlling spread of Covid-19
China has won a "great and decisive victory" in the fight against the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic that has gripped the country in recent months. The assessment was made Thursday by the ruling Communist Party's top...
Updated: 39 months ago4 min read
China has won a "great and decisive victory" in the fight against the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic that has gripped the country in recent months. The assessment was made Thursday by the ruling Communist Party's top decision-making body in a closed meeting chaired by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. This is the latest indication that the nation is trying to lessen the political fallout from a zero Covid-19 outbreak.
The longstanding "zero Covid" policy was met with much resentment, including infrequent mass protests, before abruptly halting in December amid rising economic costs.
The rapid lifting of strict disease control has seen cases surge, bringing hospitals to their knees and forcing people to struggle to obtain essential medicines.But the outbreak appears to have leveled off in recent weeks, according to government statistics showing visits to fever clinics have fallen from a peak in late December to lower levels than before lockdowns were eased. .
According to a statement from the official Xinhua News Agency, the Politburo Standing Committee said at a meeting on Thursday that the populous country had "performed a miracle in human history"; "Successfully mastering the pandemic".
The group said China maintains the lowest Covid-19 death rate in the world, according to the summary. Top Chinese leaders have bragged about these statistics during the pandemic.
This is the result of
nationwide lockdowns, mandatory quarantines and border controls that have kept the number of cases and deaths in the country low compared to other major economies.
What are the current toll numbers?
,
China has officially reported more than 80,000 deaths since Covid-19 ended in zero.
This number includes people who were tested for Covid-19 and died in hospital, but not those who were not tested or those who died at home during the peak of the virus. With testing being delayed and many patients likely avoiding hospitals, the number of people excluded could be significant, experts say.
"There are still many questions about the death toll from Covid in China - it would be helpful if they could release more information, especially on deaths from all causes compared to the pre-Covid years," said virologist Jin Dongyan, Professor at the School of Science Biomedical University of Hong Kong, as reported by CNN.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also criticized China for a lack of data clarity during the outbreak, particularly its earlier and more restrictive definition of Covid-19 deaths, which Chinese health authorities changed in January.
Additional concerns about how authorities arrived at the undisclosed Covid death rate, which analysts say is usually estimated by dividing the death rate by the total number of cases, is that it's unclear how many people have been infected out of a total of
. from China has eased its zero Covid policy.
More than 80 percent of people in China have already contracted the disease, according to Wu Zunyou, a top epidemiologist with the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who posted information on his personal social media account in late January .
Reported death rates have also fallen, according to the latest CDC reports, with China reporting just 912 hospital deaths in the week of February 3-9. The report also said the death toll peaked on Jan. 4, with a total of
out of 4,273 who died that day.
The Way Ahead
As with other nations, there is evidence that the Chinese people have extensive natural immunity; However, the scientists warn that this does not mean the virus is gone or that Chinese health systems are ready to deal with potential future outbreaks caused by likely new strains.
According to the report of the Xinhua Political Bureau Standing Committee meeting, the agency "requested all locations and departments to optimize related mechanisms and measures and strengthen the medical care system"; and called for planning for a next round of vaccinations and improved medical care.
The need for further healthcare support was also mentioned.
While there were signs the recent surge was largely over, Hong Kong University's Jin agreed China should continue its preparations. "Covid is still here and will be with us for much, much longer," he said. "After this tsunami, they still face a new challenge to strengthen the healthcare system," he added.
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