Zero-COVID policy protects health, saves lives
2 years, 11 months ago

Zero-COVID policy protects health, saves lives

China Daily  

A medical worker takes a swab sample from a citizen for nucleic acid test at a testing site in Dongli district in North China's Tianjin, Jan 15, 2022. The victory in Tianjin proves again China's dynamic zero-COVID approach is effective in epidemic prevention and control as well as ensuring people's health. Zhang Wenhong, a well-respected Chinese infectious disease expert, slammed the notion Omicron causes merely an "enhanced influenza" and warned that the variant would "bite people". According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the US daily average of COVID-19 deaths hit its highest level since February 2021 after the Omicron variant led to a record number of new confirmed cases: the seven-day average daily death toll reached 2,191 on the 24th, an increase of about 1,000 people compared to when the Omicron variant was first discovered in the United States two months prior. As the WHO chief warned the COVID-19 pandemic is "nowhere near over" on Jan 20, a dynamic zero-case policy is still the best choice for epidemic prevention and control in China.

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History of this topic

How COVID-19 Transformed China’s Domestic and International Trajectory
1 day, 9 hours ago

How COVID-19 Transformed China’s Domestic and International Trajectory

The Diplomat  

Five years after the novel coronavirus first emerged, China’s major metropolises bear virtually no visible scars of their unprecedented battle with COVID-19. State media acknowledged that the extremely high gross domestic saving rate – over 44 percent in 2023 – reflects “people’s growing insecurity about the future and their inclination to save as a precaution against risks.” Despite Beijing’s efforts …

Is there an epidemic brewing in China?
1 week, 2 days ago

Is there an epidemic brewing in China?

India Today  

Social media platforms have been inundated with alarming claims about a new epidemic spreading across China. Users are sharing videos showing overcrowded hospitals and suggesting the rapid spread of multiple respiratory viruses, including Influenza A, HMPV, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and COVID-19. However, there is currently no credible evidence to support these claims, and official confirmation from health authorities remains absent. The …

‘Moral imperative’: WHO presses China to share COVID origins data
1 week, 4 days ago

‘Moral imperative’: WHO presses China to share COVID origins data

Al Jazeera  

Beijing insists it has shared information on the coronavirus ‘without holding anything back’. “Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics.” The WHO recounted how on December 31, 2019, its country office in China picked up a media statement from health authorities in the central city of Wuhan concerning …

WHO urges China to share Covid origins data, five years on from pandemic’s emergence
1 week, 4 days ago

WHO urges China to share Covid origins data, five years on from pandemic’s emergence

CNN  

Hong Kong CNN — The World Health Organization has urged China to share data to help understand the origins of Covid-19, five years on from the start of the pandemic in the Chinese city of Wuhan. “Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics.” China’s Foreign Ministry defended the …

COVID-19 infections not problematic, experts say
4 months, 3 weeks ago

COVID-19 infections not problematic, experts say

China Daily  

The number of people in China being infected with COVID-19 is fluctuating reasonably and won't be a burden on medical resources or the public, experts said. However, the National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases said the percentage of people catching flu and testing positive for COVID-19 rose from 8.9 percent in early July to 18.7 percent late last month. "COVID-19 …

China stands alone in its attitude towards the pandemic
11 months, 1 week ago

China stands alone in its attitude towards the pandemic

Hindustan Times  

The omicron variant of COVID-19 poses enormous challenges for governments. In America, cases are at three times their previous peak in January 2021, hospitals are as busy as they have ever been and deaths have risen by 40% in two weeks to 1,800 per day. Covid In China: Security guards wearing personal protective equipment amid the Covid-19 pandemic sit at …

China tries to ‘bury the memory’ and trauma of zero-COVID era
1 year ago

China tries to ‘bury the memory’ and trauma of zero-COVID era

Al Jazeera  

A year after Beijing abandoned the policy’s strict lockdowns and endless testing, its failures remain unaddressed. “Doctors and nurses were rushing around everywhere between long lines of patients waiting their turn, and people were even sitting on the floor and against the walls,” Ma, who is 36 and works as a sales representative in China’s northeastern Shandong province, told Al …

Scientists see risk of lost opportunity for long COVID research in China
1 year ago

Scientists see risk of lost opportunity for long COVID research in China

The Hindu  

With more than a full year past since China eased restrictions and let COVID-19 sweep its households, scientists are worried a unique opportunity may be slipping away to study long COVID from possibly hundreds of millions of infections in that country. China's rare circumstances - relying on home-grown vaccines and mostly avoiding COVID until late in the pandemic - could, …

No ‘unusual’ virus behind rising Pneumonia cases China has clarified, reveals WHO
1 year, 1 month ago

No ‘unusual’ virus behind rising Pneumonia cases China has clarified, reveals WHO

Firstpost  

Since mid-October 2023, the World Health Organization has been monitoring data from Chinese surveillance systems showing an increase in respiratory illness in children in northern China China has reiterated that no unusual or new pathogens have been detected in the upsurge in child respiratory illnesses in the north, the WHO said on Thursday after putting pressure on Beijing for detailed …

China's pneumonia scare: Transparency please
1 year, 1 month ago

China's pneumonia scare: Transparency please

Live Mint  

China, where covid broke out in November 2019, is in the spotlight again. The World Health Organization has asked the country for details on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children. In a recent statement, the WHO noted an increase in influenza-like ailments compared to the same autumn of the past three years in China’s …

Spike in illnesses isn’t a new pathogen, China reassures WHO
1 year, 1 month ago

Spike in illnesses isn’t a new pathogen, China reassures WHO

Salon  

An outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China has sparked alarm, but the sudden rise in sickness is not related to a new virus, according to Chinese health authorities. So far, the data suggests that there’s nothing out of the ordinary, but both the WHO and China have been criticized in the past for not being entirely transparent about the COVID-19 …

On China pneumonia outbreak, scientists caution to not press ‘pandemic panic button’
1 year, 1 month ago

On China pneumonia outbreak, scientists caution to not press ‘pandemic panic button’

Hindustan Times  

Leading scientists urged caution over fears of another pandemic on Thursday after the World Health Organization requested more information from China on a rise of respiratory illnesses and pneumonia clusters among children. The standard wording of the alert echoed the first-ever notice about what would become COVID-19, sent on Dec. 30 2019: "Undiagnosed pneumonia - China." "I am not going …

WHO calls on China to reinstate masks, social distancing and staying home when ill amid mystery pneumonia outbreak
1 year, 1 month ago

WHO calls on China to reinstate masks, social distancing and staying home when ill amid mystery pneumonia outbreak

Daily Mail  

China must be more transparent on new outbreak than with Covid, experts say People in China should wear masks, socially distance and stay home if unwell amid an outbreak of a mystery respiratory illness, global health chiefs have warned. Students being dismissed from a school in Beijing as the city and others in Northern China are hit by a wave …

Is COVID making a return to China this winter?
1 year, 1 month ago

Is COVID making a return to China this winter?

Firstpost  

China’s leading respiratory illness expert Zhong Nanshan has warned of a minor COVID-19 surge in the winter and urged the elderly and vulnerable populations to get vaccinated as soon as possible Concerned about an increase of COVID-19 infections in the current winter season, Chinese experts have issued an alert and advised vaccination for vulnerable and old groups. The Chinese Centre …

China on ALERT over likely COVID-19 relapse ahead of winter
1 year, 1 month ago

China on ALERT over likely COVID-19 relapse ahead of winter

India TV News  

COVID-19 alert: Ahead of the winter season, an alert has been sounded across China about the relapse of COVID-19 infections and experts have asked elderly and vulnerable populations to get vaccinated. The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention showed that a total of 209 new severe COVID-19 cases and 24 deaths caused by COVID-19 were reported across the country …

China’s chief epidemiologist who helped drive the anti-COVID fight dies at age 60
1 year, 2 months ago

China’s chief epidemiologist who helped drive the anti-COVID fight dies at age 60

Associated Press  

BANGKOK — Wu Zunyou, an epidemiologist who helped drive the country’s strict zero-COVID measures in China that suspended access to cities and confined millions to their homes, died on Friday. An announcement from China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention about Wu’s death gave no cause, but said that “rescue measures failed.” Wu’s health had been poor. Yet, as China …

China Omits Cremation Data to Hide True Pandemic Death Toll following Lifting of Covid Zero
1 year, 6 months ago

China Omits Cremation Data to Hide True Pandemic Death Toll following Lifting of Covid Zero

News 18  

A Chinese quarterly report on marriage and social welfare for the fourth quarter of 2022 dropped the section highlighting the number of cremations held last winter, indicating that it withheld a key indicator of the pandemic death toll when China faced its largest wave of Covid-19 cases. If the data were released, the quarterly or year-on-year comparison could be used …

Learn from missteps in Covid’s early days
1 year, 8 months ago

Learn from missteps in Covid’s early days

Hindustan Times  

Covid-19 is no longer a public health emergency, the World Health Organization declared last week, roughly 1,200 days after it first learnt of a new coronavirus spreading through Wuhan, China. Still, WHO’s word is a strong determinant in global health discourse and on this count, the agency fell short in its mission, especially in the early days of the pandemic. …

China to remain alert even as WHO declares COVID-19 global emergency over
1 year, 8 months ago

China to remain alert even as WHO declares COVID-19 global emergency over

Firstpost  

A top Chinese health official said that despite the World Health Organisation ending the worldwide emergency designation for COVID-19, the virus is still dangerous and China will continue to monitor it while boosting vaccination rates among high-risk groups. According to Liang Wannian, head of China’s COVID-19 response expert group under the National Health Commission, the warning status being lifted by …

Ignoring experts, China’s sudden zero-COVID exit cost lives
1 year, 9 months ago

Ignoring experts, China’s sudden zero-COVID exit cost lives

Associated Press  

BEIJING — When China suddenly scrapped onerous zero-COVID measures in December, the country wasn’t ready for a massive onslaught of cases, with hospitals turning away ambulances and crematoriums burning bodies around the clock. Chinese state media claimed the decision to open up was based on “scientific analysis and shrewd calculation,” and “by no means impulsive.” But in reality, China’s ruling …

Ignoring experts, China’s sudden zero-COVID exit cost lives
1 year, 9 months ago

Ignoring experts, China’s sudden zero-COVID exit cost lives

Associated Press  

BEIJING — When China suddenly scrapped onerous zero-COVID measures in December, the country wasn’t ready for a massive onslaught of cases. “It wasn’t a sound public health decision at all,” said a China CDC official, declining to be named to speak candidly on a sensitive matter. At a mid-April internal panel discussion recently made public by the Beijing-based Center for …

DC Edit | Covid isn't over, be cautious
1 year, 9 months ago

DC Edit | Covid isn't over, be cautious

Deccan Chronicle  

After lying low for quite some time, the Covid-19 virus has started rearing its head again in the country. The daily caseload which came down to two digits towards the end of the last year has of late been crossing 1,000; as per the health ministry data, India logged 1,300 new cases, the highest in 140 days, on Thursday while …

China’s rushed exit from zero-Covid may have cost hundreds of thousands of lives
1 year, 9 months ago

China’s rushed exit from zero-Covid may have cost hundreds of thousands of lives

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “It wasn’t a sound public health decision at all,” …

Ignoring experts, China’s sudden zero-COVID exit cost lives
1 year, 9 months ago

Ignoring experts, China’s sudden zero-COVID exit cost lives

LA Times  

An elderly patient uses a ventilator in the hallway of the emergency ward in Beijing in January. Chinese state media claimed the decision to open up was based on “scientific analysis and shrewd calculation,” and “by no means impulsive.” But in reality, China’s ruling Communist Party ignored repeated efforts by top medical experts to kick-start exit plans until it was …

WHO accuses China of withholding information on origin of COVID-19
1 year, 9 months ago

WHO accuses China of withholding information on origin of COVID-19

The Hindu  

The World Health Organisation has accused China of withholding information and data that may throw light on the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has asked why such information was not shared three years ago. GISAID is a global science initiative and primary source established in 2008 that provides open access to genomic data of influenza viruses and the coronavirus …

’China’s Zero Covid Policy completely…’: What Premiere Li Qiang had to say
1 year, 9 months ago

’China’s Zero Covid Policy completely…’: What Premiere Li Qiang had to say

Live Mint  

China got its new Premiere Li Qiang, who delivered his first speech on Monday. During his speech, Qiang vehemently defended the unenviable Zero Covid Policy brought about by the Xi Jinping government in the East Asian country. Qiang said the Zero Covid strategy followed by the country for over three years which hurt its economic growth also led to public …

U.S. to relax COVID testing rules for travelers from China as early as Friday
1 year, 10 months ago

U.S. to relax COVID testing rules for travelers from China as early as Friday

LA Times  

The Biden administration is preparing to relax COVID-19 testing restrictions for travelers from China as soon as Friday, according to two people familiar with the decision. The restrictions were put in place Dec. 28 and took effect Jan. 5 amid the surge in China after the government sharply eased pandemic restrictions and as U.S. health officials expressed concerns that their …

China dismisses FBI statement on COVID-19 lab leak theory
1 year, 10 months ago

China dismisses FBI statement on COVID-19 lab leak theory

Firstpost  

Beijing: For the second day in a row, China on Wednesday dismissed U.S. suggestions that the COVID-19 pandemic may have been triggered by a virus that leaked from a Chinese laboratory. Responding to comments by FBI Director Christopher Wray, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the involvement of the U.S. intelligence community was evidence enough of the “politicization of origin …

China says 200 million treated for COVID since November, pandemic ‘decisively’ beaten
1 year, 10 months ago

China says 200 million treated for COVID since November, pandemic ‘decisively’ beaten

LA Times  

Commuters during the morning rush hour in the central business district of Beijing on Thursday. China says more than 200 million of its citizens have been diagnosed and treated for COVID-19 since it lifted strict containment measures beginning in November. With 800,000 of the most critically ill patients having recovered, China has “decisively beaten” the pandemic, according to notes from …

COVID-19 infections continue to decline in China
1 year, 10 months ago

COVID-19 infections continue to decline in China

China Daily  

People wearing masks walk on a street in Huai'an, Jiangsu province, Jan 21, 2023. The Chinese mainland reported over 80,000 COVID-19-related deaths at hospitals from Dec 8 to Feb 9, as the numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths associated with the disease have been trending downward consistently this year, data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention show. …

China says Covid-19 deaths, severe cases have fallen over 70% since peak
1 year, 11 months ago

China says Covid-19 deaths, severe cases have fallen over 70% since peak

India Today  

Critically ill COVID-19 cases in China are down 72% from a peak early this month while daily deaths among COVID-19 patients in hospitals have dropped 79% from their peak, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. The CDC said the number of critically ill patients in China peaked on Jan. 4 at 128,000 cases and fell to …

COVID-19 update: China faces challenge due to flawed containment policies, ineffective vaccines, says Report
1 year, 11 months ago

COVID-19 update: China faces challenge due to flawed containment policies, ineffective vaccines, says Report

India TV News  

China COVID-19 update : China is facing a significant challenge in the form of COVID-19, due to the Chinese Communist Party's "flawed and regressive containment policies and ineffective domestically produced vaccines," GeoPolitica.info reported. China's COVID-19 containment strategy has affected Chinese people and has caused major discontent among people in the country, as per the GeoPolitica.info report. Vaccines manufactured in China …

‘In Dec 2022, new Covid infections exceeded 70 lakhs per day’, says China
1 year, 11 months ago

‘In Dec 2022, new Covid infections exceeded 70 lakhs per day’, says China

Live Mint  

China Covid case update: The Chinese authorities have informed that the daily number of Covid cases in the east Asian country had hit a peak of 7 million reported cases per day during December last year. The figures published in China's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention website said, "around December 22, 2022, the number of infected people and the …

As schools are set to resume face-to-face classes in Hong Kong, mainland Chinese students face adjustment problems
1 year, 11 months ago

As schools are set to resume face-to-face classes in Hong Kong, mainland Chinese students face adjustment problems

Firstpost  

Parents and teachers have called for a range of support services for children who may face adjustment problems New Delhi: Thousands of children who live in mainland China and attend Hong Kong schools will return to their campuses for the first time in three years, parents and teachers of students said. According to a report in the South China Morning …

China: Over 12,000 people have died of Covid in 1 week, says govt data
1 year, 11 months ago

China: Over 12,000 people have died of Covid in 1 week, says govt data

Op India  

Chinese health authorities have said that more than 12,000 hospitalized people infected with COVID-19 died in seven days through Thursday, NHK World-Japan reported. Meanwhile, Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has claimed that about 80 per cent of China’s population has been infected with COVID-19, which is nearly eight in 10 people, CNN …

Decoding China’s COVID-19 Policy U-Turn
1 year, 11 months ago

Decoding China’s COVID-19 Policy U-Turn

The Diplomat  

On November 30, several districts in the southern hub metropolis Guangzhou took the lead in lifting a large number of COVID-19-related lockdowns, as well as suspending testing requirements. In face of this, local and provincial administrations – in adherence to official party doctrine concerning “zero COVID” – turned to lockdowns and mass testing campaigns as desperate measures in tackling the …

13,000 covid fatalities are reported in China in one week
1 year, 11 months ago

13,000 covid fatalities are reported in China in one week

Op India  

After a top health official stated that the vast majority of the Chinese populace has already been infected by the virus, China reported about 13,000 hospital fatalities linked to covid between January 13 and January 19 across the country. According to a statement released on Saturday by China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over the course of the year, …

China logs nearly 13,000 Covid deaths in a week
1 year, 11 months ago

China logs nearly 13,000 Covid deaths in a week

The Hindu  

China reported nearly 13,000 Covid-related deaths in hospitals between January 13 and 19, after a top health official said the vast majority of the population had already been infected. The death toll came a week after China said nearly 60,000 people had died with Covid in hospitals in just over a month -- but there has been widespread scepticism over …

China lifted 'zero covid' policy to eradicate Tibetans from Tibet: Report
1 year, 11 months ago

China lifted 'zero covid' policy to eradicate Tibetans from Tibet: Report

Op India  

After the mass protest against China’s Zero Covid policy, Beijing took a U-turn and loosened up its strict restriction only to use them as a tool to kill and eradicate the Tibetans from Tibet, as per the Voice Against Autocracy. According to the latest report, 100 people alone have died in Lhasa due to Covid since Beijing lifted its strict …

China Reports 70% Rise In Weekly Covid Hospitalisation, Highest Since Pandemic Outbreak: WHO
1 year, 11 months ago

China Reports 70% Rise In Weekly Covid Hospitalisation, Highest Since Pandemic Outbreak: WHO

ABP News  

The World Health Organization’s weekly report on Thursday showed China reported a large jump in Covid-19 hospitalisations in the week up to January 15. This is the highest weekly figure China has recorded since the virus first emerged more than three years ago, the WHO noted, according to the news agency Reuters. However, the global body said it is still …

Fears for rural population in China as COVID-19 spreads in villages lacking health care
1 year, 11 months ago

Fears for rural population in China as COVID-19 spreads in villages lacking health care

ABC  

University student Daqing was in awe of how quiet her once-bustling rural village in eastern China had become. "The cost also climbed a lot as we have to hire more workers and it's holiday time," she said, speaking anonymously because COVID-19 deaths are a politically sensitive topic in China. "The gap in medical resources between urban and rural areas existed …

China says critical COVID cases have peaked as holiday travel surges
1 year, 11 months ago

China says critical COVID cases have peaked as holiday travel surges

The Hindu  

The number of COVID patients needing critical care in China's hospitals has peaked, health authorities said on Thursday, as millions travelled across the country for long-awaited reunions with families, raising fears of fresh outbreaks. There has been widespread scepticism over China's official COVID data since it abruptly axed anti-virus controls last month that had shielded China's 1.4 billion people from …

China's chicanery continues as doctors told not to cite Covid on death certificates – Firstpost
1 year, 11 months ago

China's chicanery continues as doctors told not to cite Covid on death certificates – Firstpost

Firstpost  

Beijing: Doctors in China have been instructed not to write Covid-induced respiratory failure on death certificates. Six doctors from public hospitals across China told Reuters that they have received similar oral instructions which discourage them to put Covid as the cause of death on certificates. “We have stopped classifying COVID deaths since the reopening in December,” a doctor at a …

West's false COVID narratives hold no water
1 year, 11 months ago

West's false COVID narratives hold no water

China Daily  

A woman receives a booster dose in Chaoyang district of Beijing on July 13, 2022. First, some say that China's COVID-19 death toll does not include those who died as a result of delayed or denied medical treatment because of strict COVID-19 control measures. However, China's excess mortality during the pandemic was a negative number, which means China's COVID-19 policy …

Opinion: In China’s countryside, a Covid-19 tsunami is brewing
1 year, 11 months ago

Opinion: In China’s countryside, a Covid-19 tsunami is brewing

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Yanzhong Huang is a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations and a professor at Seton Hall University School of Diplomacy and International Relations, specializing in Asia. An elderly rural population Is China’s rural healthcare system able to withstand skyrocketing Covid-19 cases? Is China’s rural healthcare system able to withstand skyrocketing Covid-19 cases? A …

China records 1st population fall in decades as births drop
1 year, 11 months ago

China records 1st population fall in decades as births drop

Associated Press  

BEIJING — China’s population shrank for the first time in decades last year as its birthrate plunged, official figures showed Tuesday, adding to pressure on leaders to keep the economy growing despite an aging workforce and at a time of rising tension with the U.S. Despite the official numbers, some experts believe China’s population has been in decline for a …

Explained: How 'zero COVID' workers are causing unrest in China
1 year, 11 months ago

Explained: How 'zero COVID' workers are causing unrest in China

Firstpost  

In the eastern city of Hangzhou, several COVID workers climbed on the roof of a test kit factory and threatened to jump to protest unpaid furloughs. At a separate test manufacturing plant in the city, workers protested for days over a wage dispute After China’s abrupt reversal of “zero COVID” restrictions, the nation’s vast machinery of virus surveillance and testing …

China’s economy grows 3% in 2022, hit by lockdowns, Covid surge
1 year, 11 months ago

China’s economy grows 3% in 2022, hit by lockdowns, Covid surge

The Hindu  

China’s economy grew 3% in 2022, the second-slowest growth rate since the last year of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution in 1976, with the last quarter of the year seeing declining growth as the country dealt with a sweeping COVID-19 surge. The past year, however, has seen China’s “zero-Covid” policy, which was discontinued in early December, extract heavy economic tolls. Kang …

China's Covid death data hides true toll: Report
1 year, 11 months ago

China's Covid death data hides true toll: Report

India TV News  

China Covid update: The nearly 60,000 Covid-related deaths China reported for the first five weeks of its current outbreak, the largest the world has ever seen, may underestimate the true toll by hundreds of thousands of fatalities, experts were quoted as saying in a media report. China's abrupt pivot from Covid Zero in early December unleashed a surge of omicron …

Chinese city-dwellers head to hometowns as holidays raise Covid stakes
1 year, 11 months ago

Chinese city-dwellers head to hometowns as holidays raise Covid stakes

India Today  

Passengers laden with luggage flocked to rail stations and airports in China's megacities on Monday, heading to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year holidays that health experts fear could intensify a raging Covid-19 outbreak in areas less equipped to handle it. As well as fever drugs and oxygen supplies, China's National Health Commission has said it would equip every …

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