China Declares Victory in COVID-19 Response
China has declared a decisive victory in its fight against COVID-19, three years after the pandemic first emerged. This milestone achievement by China is an incredible accomplishment, considering the country’s large population and the contagious nature of the virus. But how did China achieve this success?
Adapting Prevention and Control Measures
In response to the evolving nature of the pandemic, China has been adjusting its COVID prevention and control measures to safeguard the health and safety of its people. China’s success in the fight against the virus is largely attributed to its emphasis on scientific decision-making.
Science-Based Approaches
Looking back, China’s COVID-19 response serves as a reminder that only science-based approaches can deliver an acclaimed performance in the face of a pandemic unseen in a century. By prioritizing science and research, China has been able to develop effective and efficient prevention and control measures, which have led to this decisive victory.
In the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chinese government quickly responded to contain the virus. The central authorities sent an expert team to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, to evaluate the situation and take immediate actions. Based on scientific findings and professional suggestions, the government quickly implemented preventative measures to curb the spread of the virus.
In January 2020, China shared the genome sequence of the virus, which greatly contributed to vaccine and drug research and development worldwide. Wuhan also suspended all outbound trains and flights to slow down virus transmission. As a result, stadiums and exhibition centers were transformed into makeshift hospitals to accommodate the increasing number of patients. Tens of thousands of medical workers rushed to the front line and worked tirelessly to improve diagnosis and treatment of the novel disease.
According to Antoine Flahault, the director of the Institute of Global Health at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva, the Chinese government applied strict and effective measures at that time to tackle the pandemic and avoid its spread across the country. The prompt response from the Chinese government and the relentless efforts of medical workers proved critical in containing the outbreak.
The response to the COVID-19 outbreak in China was swift and effective due to the government’s emergency response measures, scientific decision-making, and the dedication of healthcare workers. These measures helped prevent the spread of the virus, which resulted in lower rates of infection and a reduced impact on the economy.
Despite initial criticisms of the Chinese response to the pandemic, the strict measures and approach ultimately yielded significant results, with the country now declaring a major victory over COVID-19. The lessons learned from China’s response will likely serve as a reference for future pandemic preparedness and management worldwide.
China’s COVID-19 prevention and control measures have effectively contained sporadic outbreaks since May 2020. In the absence of vaccines, China formulated new strategies to control small-scale clusters to make COVID-19 a controllable disease. These measures align with the methods repeatedly emphasized by the World Health Organization, including testing people who may be infected, tracing their contacts, and isolating or quarantining those who are positive or exposed.
To curb sporadic outbreaks swiftly, China implemented a series of strict prevention and control measures that required significant political courage and vision. The widespread public adherence to these measures played a crucial role in curbing the spread of the virus. Despite the Delta variant, which causes more severe cases than other variants, China withstood 11 rounds of small-scale outbreaks, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC).
In contrast to the rest of the world, where life expectancy fell, China’s average life expectancy increased from 77.93 years in 2020 to 78.2 in 2021, as reported by a study by Oxford University in 2021. This highlights the effectiveness of China’s COVID-19 control strategies and the country’s prioritization of public health.
China’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was marked by a “dynamic zero-COVID” strategy, which focused on finding, controlling, and curing infected people in specific geographic regions while avoiding the impact on social and economic development in other regions. The strategy was adopted in August 2021 when the population immunity barrier was not yet established, and the country faced continued risks of foreign importation and high transmission of variants. China’s success in quickly curbing the spread of the virus while maintaining economic growth has made significant contributions to global economic growth.
Given China’s population of over 1.4 billion, the country’s vaccination strategy differed from many other countries. Limited supplies at the early stages of the pandemic meant that vaccines were initially administered to key groups and high-risk groups. However, as the production capacity increased, China implemented the world’s most extensive vaccination campaign in terms of scale, building a relatively strong immunity barrier among its citizens. Today, more than 90 percent of the Chinese population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and over 86 percent of people aged 60 or above are fully vaccinated.
Moreover, China has been continuously improving its medical treatment capacity to cope with the pandemic. By the end of 2022, the number of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in the country had reached 216,000, and 135,000 hospital beds could be converted to intensive care. China’s success in responding to the pandemic using science-based approaches has been attributed to its ability to adjust its COVID prevention and control measures in light of new developments while adhering to scientific decision-making.
China’s approach to small-scale clusters of COVID-19 cases reflected the methods recommended by the World Health Organization, emphasizing testing people who may be infected, tracing their contacts, and isolating or quarantining those who are positive or exposed. China’s strict prevention and control measures required enormous political courage and vision, and widespread public adherence played a crucial role in curbing sporadic outbreaks swiftly. According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), China withstood 11 rounds of small-scale outbreaks caused by the Delta variant, which causes more severe cases than other variants.
China’s success in responding to the pandemic has also contributed to improvements in life expectancy, which increased from 77.93 years in 2020 to 78.2 in 2021. This is in stark contrast to a 2021 study by Oxford University, which found that due to COVID-19, 27 of 29 countries spanning most of Europe, the United States, and Chile all saw reductions in life expectancy in 2020, the biggest decrease since World War II.
Over the three years since the initial COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China has kept its severe cases and death rates among the lowest in the world, while building up its treatment, testing, and vaccine production capacities. The relatively mild Omicron variant, coupled with China’s high vaccination rate and experience, has allowed the country to enter a new stage of epidemic prevention and control policy in late 2022.
In order to effectively balance epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development needs, China has made a range of adjustments to its COVID-19 policies, introducing 20 measures in November 2022 and 10 more in December. These changes confirm a consistent effort to maintain a balance in pandemic control measures while returning life and work to normal at an accelerated pace.
As the country moves forward, China remains vigilant, and continues to improve its epidemic monitoring and information reporting system. This will ensure that timely and accurate early warnings can be issued and necessary prevention and control measures taken immediately.
Furthermore, China is focusing on increasing the vaccination rate among its elderly population. Local governments across the country have been required to provide “express channels” and vaccination vehicles for the elderly, as well as providing door-to-door services when needed to facilitate vaccination. These efforts are part of China’s continued commitment to keep its citizens safe and healthy, and to maintain economic and social stability during the pandemic.
In addition, China’s response to the pandemic has been aided by the implementation of strict prevention and control measures, including mandatory mask-wearing, quarantine measures, and widespread testing. These measures, combined with the high vaccination rate, have helped China to minimize the impact of the pandemic on its population.
Looking forward, China will continue to optimize its COVID-19 prevention and control policies to maintain its achievements in epidemic control while ensuring economic and social development needs are met. By doing so, China is expected to remain a leader in global efforts to combat the pandemic.
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