Zhang stated that the week of January 21–27—the month leading up to the Spring Festival holiday—was a particularly trying time for healthcare professionals.
Zhang Wenhong, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and a professor of infectious diseases at Huashan Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai, advocated for strengthening community health centres and enhancing triaged medical procedures.
One of the main contributors to China’s victory over the virus, according to Zhang Wenhong on Saturday, was the quick adaptation of COVID management strategies and the efficient response of local medical workers
He said on the sidelines of this year’s two sessions, “The central leadership of the Communist Party of China has been upgrading virus control policies based on the latest epidemic situations, which has enabled us to avoid several waves of infection peaks driven by deadly strains. “This is the main justification for ending the epidemic.”
China started easing COVID-19 curbs gradually in November when the less pathogenic but highly transmissible Omicron strain became dominant, and infection levels peaked in late December.
According to Zhang, the week of January 21–27—the month leading up to the Spring Festival holiday—was a particularly trying time for healthcare professionals.
He claimed that the 247 community health centres spread throughout the city were visited by many experts in Shanghai, including himself and his teams. “During these visits, I discovered that local healthcare providers had actually contributed significantly to the fight against viruses and were a key factor in ending the epidemic.”
Zhang recalled that a 68-year-old COVID-19 patient was able to receive advice from top experts during a visit in the city’s Zhujiajiao township thanks to a remote diagnosis platform and additional assistance from neighbourhood medical professionals.
He claimed that the incident had strengthened his resolve to improve local healthcare systems. “More critically ill patients could receive better care earlier if we could efficiently mobilise healthcare resources in neighbourhoods.”
He stated that now that the domestic epidemic has subsided, it is time to improve the agility of triaged medical procedures and strengthen local healthcare systems in order to increase the resilience of China’s healthcare system.