CGTN
Beijing, March 24, 2023 (Reuters) /PRNewswire/
China has entered a new phase of disease prevention and control after downgrading the management of the COVID-19 response to Class B infectious diseases. “The overall epidemic control situation nationwide is good,” said a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on Feb. 16.
Current situation of COVID-19 in China
According to the latest data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), the number of positive nucleic acid tests in China has been basically declining since March 16, remaining below 8,000 cases for over a week.
Infections from the epidemic are still local and sporadic in China, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at China’s CDC, said in an interview in early March.
No one can say how COVID-19 will ultimately develop, Wu said, adding that the novel coronavirus will coexist with humans on Earth for a long time to come.
Zhan Qingyuan, deputy director of the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine of China-Japan Friendship Hospital (CJFH), reiterated to CGTN, “People may have to live with the microorganism since we cannot kill all the coronavirus.”
With the COVID-19 epidemic “essentially over” in the country, the hospital is operating at pre-epidemic levels amid a surge in seasonal flu, from which the influenza virus positive rate for the week of March 6-12 is recovering is up 53.2 percent, well ahead of early February data — less than 1 percent, according to statistics from the China CDC.
Zhan advised the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions to get vaccinated and have a thermometer, antigen reagents and COVID-19 medication on hand. “I recommend taking medication as soon as the nucleic acid test is positive, because the sooner the drugs against COVID-19 are started, the better the effect.”
Preparations for COVID-19 continue
In China, everything is back to normal, while important facilities such as hospitals are still being prepared.
Amid the seasonal flu, Zhong Lintao, director of CJFH’s Nosocomial Infections Management Office, said doctors at the hospital’s fever clinic have been categorizing patients based on the severity of their condition, rather than the results of nucleic acid tests, for the past three years.
In addition, the hospital is also dedicated to daily infection prevention and control, according to Zhong, “For example, we provide guidance on personal protection for medical staff and patients, clean and disinfect high-touch items every day to prevent the spread of the virus in medical institutions .”
Zhong said it has gained a lot of experience from the recent COVID-19 epidemic and can quickly respond to a disease outbreak from normal operations, including the assignment of medical staff to the fever clinic, emergency room and infirmaries, and the storage of medicines and medical supplies Devices.
“We will also expand the capacity of the emergency department by converting special wards in other departments to treat serious cases as soon as there is a need,” Zhong said.
The hospital converted a building into infirmaries to care for critically ill COVID-19 patients last December, and although normal operations have resumed, Zhong said the building can quickly be converted back into infirmaries if necessary.
strengthening weak limbs
China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), National Health Commission and six other departments have issued a notice and are working to consolidate key achievements in epidemic prevention and control, and strengthen weak links in the city’s medical and health care system country and in environmental protection,” Liu Dechun, director of NDRC’s Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection, told a media conference last Thursday.
According to Liu, China will expand epidemic surveillance and regular early warning and response system capacity, and improve health surveillance facilities and capacity in key facilities such as medical facilities, elderly care facilities and large shopping malls.
He also urged to coordinate and allocate medical supplies and resources, and build a multi-tier, referral-based health care network — primary, secondary and tertiary hospitals — with public medical institutions as the mainstay, Liu said.
Liu said the country is improving sanitation in crowded places and controlling environmental health in places like urban villages and farmers’ markets.
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Original content from: CGTN, transmitted by news aktuell