Red Star News:
The NHC recently said that China's anti-epidemic work has entered the fourth stage -- the stage of all-round comprehensive epidemic prevention and control in a scientific and targeted manner following the dynamic zero-COVID approach. When did China enter this stage? Why the need to adjust? Thank you.
Li Bin:
Thank you for your question and attention on China's epidemic prevention and control stages. During more than two years of China's anti-epidemic work, we have optimized and adjusted prevention and control measures and diagnosis and treatment schemes depending on the epidemic situation. We have always followed the people-centered development philosophy in fighting against the epidemic. China's epidemic prevention and control work has included four stages: first, the emergency containment stage of the epidemic outbreak. We achieved a decisive result in fighting the virus in Wuhan city and Hubei province in about three months, and successfully contained the spread of the virus in China. Second is the exploration stage of regular epidemic prevention and control. China has mainly used nucleic acid testing as a major way to strengthen prevention, and strived to control an epidemic situation within two or three incubation periods. The third is the stage of targeted prevention and control following the dynamic zero-COVID approach across the whole chain. We have focused on early detection and meticulous and fundamental measures, and grasped the "golden 24 hours" after detecting positive cases to contain the epidemic within the first incubation period. Currently, China's anti-epidemic work has entered the stage of all-round comprehensive epidemic prevention and control in a scientific and targeted manner following the dynamic zero-COVID approach.
The Omicron variant is highly infectious, highly transmissible, difficult to detect, and can cause a larger proportion of asymptomatic infections. We summarize experiences from different regions and continue to improve COVID-19 response measures. As for COVID-19 prevention and control measures, we make clear our main focuses, set priorities for these measures, and put community-level prevention and control in a prominent position. We control the population at risk within the particular region at the earliest time. Infected patients will all be treated, and close contacts will all be isolated. We also isolate people who are secondary close contacts of COVID-19 cases in designated places as possible as we can, striving to cut off the transmission routes in the shortest time. We work to advance antigen tests and nucleic acid tests in order to detect infected cases as early as possible. Public security, industry and information technology, and public health departments have worked in synergy to conduct epidemiological investigations, identify the scope of the population at risk, and take targeted prevention and control measures. As for the organization and management of disposal of COVID-19 cases, we work in a well-coordinated and efficient way and try to run faster than the virus. Based on the principle of centralized and overall planning, we work to ensure that all processes, including nucleic acid testing, epidemiological investigation, isolation, transferring, and community-level prevention and control can be operated in a well-coordinated manner, striving to shorten the possible time from positive screening test to final transfer. We focus on high-risk regions and mobilize our best efforts to secure victory in key regions so that the transmission of the virus can be curbed as quickly as possible.
In general, no matter how the epidemic situation goes, we will always put people and their lives first and take prudent efforts to ensure the COVID-19 response measures are implemented. Thanks.
