To safeguard the health and safety of its citizens, China has been modifying its COVID prevention and control measures over the past three years in response to fresh information.
China declared a significant and resounding victory in its fight against COVID-19 three years into the pandemic. To safeguard the health and safety of its citizens, China has been modifying its COVID prevention and control measures over the past three years in response to fresh information.
A trip down memory lane serves as a reminder that scientific decision-making is essential to the fight against COVID-19 and that only science-based strategies are capable of delivering a successful outcome in the face of a pandemic that has not been seen in a century.
The COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan was quickly addressed by the central authorities, with scientific findings and professional suggestions translated into concrete actions. China shared the genome sequence of the virus at the earliest opportunity, and Wuhan suspended all outbound trains and flights to slow down virus transmission.
Stadiums and exhibition centers were converted into makeshift hospitals, and tens of thousands of medical workers rushed to the front line to improve diagnosis and treatment.
According to Antoine Flahault, director of the Institute of Global Health at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva, “the Chinese authorities responded quite well when the pandemic emerged in Wuhan.” The Chinese government took swift action at the time to combat the pandemic and prevent its spread throughout the whole nation.
Due to China’s effective containment of the virus, Wuhan reported no additional confirmed cases in May 2020. China developed innovative strategies for small-scale clusters before the vaccines were available to make COVID-19 a manageable illness.
China implemented strict prevention and control measures to combat COVID-19, including testing people who may be infected, tracing contacts, and isolating or quarantining those who are positive or exposed. This led to 11 rounds of small-scale outbreaks caused by the Delta variant, which causes more severe cases than other variants. Widespread public adherence made a difference in curbing sporadic outbreaks swiftly.
Oxford University’s study showed that due to COVID-19, 27 of 29 countries saw reductions in life expectancy in 2020, the biggest decrease since World War II. In China, the average life expectancy increased from 77.93 years in 2020 to 78.2 in 2021.
China adopted the “dynamic zero-COVID” strategy in August 2021 to fight, quickly find, control, and cure infected people within a specific geographic region to achieve the maximum effect at the lowest cost.
China’s average annual economic growth rate over the past three years was 4.5%, higher than the global average and making significant contributions to global economic growth. To combat COVID-19, China implemented the world’s most extensive vaccination campaign, targeting key groups and high-risk groups to build a strong immunity barrier.
Currently, over 90% of Chinese citizens have received their full COVID-19 vaccinations, and over 86% of those 60 and older have received their full dose. Additionally, the nation is always expanding its ability to provide medical care.
The National Health Commission estimates that by the end of 2022, 135,000 hospital beds could be converted to intensive care, bringing the total number of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in China to 216,000.
China managed to keep its severe COVID-19 cases and death rates among the lowest in the world for the three years following the initial outbreak in Wuhan, and its capacity for treatment, testing, and vaccine production kept expanding.
China’s epidemic prevention and control policy entered a new stage in late 2022 due to the relatively mild omicron variant, a high vaccination rate, and the accumulation of experience.
China made adjustments to its COVID-19 policies, including 20 measures last November and 10 more measures in December, and changed the Chinese term for the virus to “novel coronavirus infection”. These adjustments confirmed a consistent effort to balance prevention and control with economic and social development needs.
As life and work quickly return to normal, China maintains its vigilance and works to further improve its system for tracking epidemics and reporting information so that timely and accurate early warnings can be given and necessary prevention and control measures can be implemented right away. The nation’s elderly population is becoming more and more immunised.
All across the nation, local governments are required to arrange vaccination vehicles or “express channels” for the elderly, as well as door-to-door services when necessary to facilitate vaccination.
Originally published at English News