According to a state news analysis of the declaration, China has advanced towards the “endemic,” or living with the infection, by declaring “winning” over the pandemic.
Picture Credits: Reuters
“Decisive victory”
Beijing Although there are still questions about how many people actually perished from the infection, China has declared a “decisive victory” over Covid-19, calling it a “miracle” and trying to claim the lowest mortality rate globally despite the fact that the infection had infected more than 80% of the country’s 1.4 billion people after restrictions have been lifted in December.
According to a state media analysis of the declaration, China has advanced towards the “endemic,” or living with the virus, by declaring “winning” over the pandemic.
“The Standing Committee of the State Council of the Communist Party China (CPC) governing board said at a meeting held on Thursday that China has accomplished a major and significant win in its Covid-19 prevention and management since November, 2022.”The country’s senior officials were present, and President Xi Jinping served as the meeting’s moderator.
“China has accomplished a miracle in human history, in which a very populous nation has effectively pulled through a pandemic.
In December, the ruling CPC abruptly abandoned the “zero-Covid” policy, ending the use of harsh lock downs, mass testing, and contact tracing.
The three-pronged strategy largely prevented the spread of Covid-19 on the mainland, but the policies hurt the economy, slowed growth, decreased consumption, and left people angry due to brutal lock downs. By 2022, the “zero-Covid” policy had become even more unworkable due to the high disease transmission of the Omicron version.
Although it wasn’t mentioned in the official statement declaring “victory” over Covid-19, the widespread and unusual protests against the government’s strict anti-Covid policies that took place in many regions of China in November undoubtedly played a significant role in the decision to lift the restrictions. The announcement made no mention of how many individuals had perished as a result of the illness.China documented slightly more than 83,000 Covid-19 fatalities between December 8 and February 9.
The chance of a significant Covid-19 put-back in China over the next two to three months is remote, according to Wu Zunyou, chief entomologist at the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, who stated this on China’s Weibo platform in January. This is because 80% of the population has already contracted the virus.
The government had limited the definition of Covid deaths in December, when China’s largest Omicron-driven Covid-19 outbreak was ravaging the nation, saying it will only record deaths from pneumonia or breathing problems as part of its official Covid-19 number of deaths. The definitional revision increased doubt regarding the reported mortality toll. The statement released on Thursday ignored allegations of overcrowded hospitals in December and the hardship of hundreds of millions of people who were forced to endure weeks-long lock downs.
According to the meeting, “China’s Covid-19 response has made a seamless transition in a short amount of time, with much more than 200 million people having access to healthcare services, nearly 800,000 severe cases getting the proper care, and the nation’s Covid-19 mortality rate remaining the world’s lowest.”
According to a source close to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention who asked to remain unnamed and told the state-run Global Times tabloid, “After having experienced the infection waves in December and January, the Chinese society is now returning to normal and people have left the pandemic status, which is also in line with public expectation.” It also signifies that we have begun the process of transforming the illness into a common chronic infection sickness that won’t draw more attention from the public and people.
It signifies that we have started the process of having the sickness become endemic, he claimed.”Continuous initiatives to improve the supply and production of medicines and medical products, and to sincerely address deficiencies in ability, medicine supply, equipment, and other areas at the primary level,” was the plea made during the meeting.
