China protects its citizens from COVID-19 killer virus

Suvam Pal is an India-based independent journalist. The opinions don't necessarily reflect those of CCTV.com.

"When the first few waves, including the deadliest Delta variant, were wreaking havoc across the world, including the U.S., UK, and India, among other countries, China has strived to protect its citizens from the deadly tentacles of the rapidly-spreading killer virus."

Business areas in Beijing have resumed bustle. Children skate at a business center in Beijing, Dec. 24, 2022.

Even though it may not be music to the ears of the propaganda-driven Western media, China's COVID-19 containment has been path-breaking and emphatically efficient over the last three years. One must not forget that it was China that first detected the virulent virus before any other country. There is ample evidence of the presence of the novel coronavirus in various European countries and the U.S. before it was detected by Chinese scientists following the outbreak in Wuhan City, central China's Hubei Province. The failure of researchers or virologists in other countries to detect or decipher the virus and its genome doesn't mean that one can endorse the Western media's blame on China and its unfair branding of China as the birthplace of COVID-19.

In fact, it's the Chinese government and its epidemiologists' relentless hard work to identify the virus in the first place and let the whole world know about its cataclysmic effect that should be hailed. It was China that overcame the early outbreaks and, at the same time, helped other developing countries and international organizations fight against it. Putting people first and giving top priority to people's lives has been the distinctive feature of China's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. To contain the epidemic in Wuhan in early 2020, more than 40,000 medics rushed to aid. Thanks to the resolute efforts of the medical personnel, over 3,000 COVID patients aged 80 and above were cured.

Thanks to China's remarkable efforts and other strict, scientific measures to combat the virus, the rest of the world could get adequate time to prepare for COVID-19 waves. So why did most of those countries fail to thwart huge life losses despite receiving warnings from WHO and China? That's another story. Since 2020, China has tackled more than 100 cluster infections, fighting different variants of the virus, including the Delta and Omicron strains. The first few strains of the virus were quite devastating, and China’s series of restrictions and epidemic control measures actually saved the majority of its vulnerable age groups, including a large number of senior citizens. According to official data, by the end of 2021, China had 267 million people aged 60 and above, or 18.9 percent of the total population, and the country's meticulously implemented COVID-19 control measures acted as a shield for them from the devastating virus.

Due to its arduous efforts, China has kept its severe COVID-19 cases and death rates among the lowest in the world. China's top respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan highlighted that China has the lowest number of COVID-19 deaths among major countries, as of November 28, 2022, the COVID death rate in China was 1/232 of the global average. When the first few waves, including the deadliest Delta variant, were wreaking havoc across the world, including the U.S., UK, and India, among other countries, China has strived to protect its citizens from the deadly tentacles of the rapidly-spreading killer virus. According to China's health authorities, as of December 13, the Chinese mainland had fully vaccinated 90.37 percent of its population, but the rate was 86.6 percent for those aged 60 and above and 66.4 percent for those aged 80 and above. 

"China's relaxation of restrictions is part of its process to ease the impact of the virus and even though there is a substantial increase in the number of positive cases."

At present, the strains of the virus are much weakened while its fatality rates are significantly lower. Accordingly, cities across China have gradually optimized and adjusted their COVID-19 prevention and control measures and organized the resumption of work and production. The new measures are designed to protect people's safety and health while minimizing COVID-19's impact on their lives, the economic and social development. Therefore, China's relaxation of restrictions is part of its process to ease the impact of the virus and even though there is a substantial increase in the number of positive cases, but the calculated risk that the Chinese scientists have taken is showing promising results. In the face of a significant number of the overall Chinese population has been infected over the last few weeks, China has recently rolled out second booster shots of the world's first inhaled COVID-19 vaccines and Omicron-targeted vaccines and targeted immunization plans for the most vulnerable groups, including the elderly. It's believed that Beijing's recent vaccination efforts will pay off.