China’s leader, Xi Jinping, this Saturday (31) called on his country’s authorities and population for more effort and unity as, according to him, the Asian nation enters a new phase of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the Chinese leader’s first comment after several countries enacted restrictions on the entry of tourists from China at their airports.
In a televised address to celebrate the New Year, Xi said China had overcome unprecedented difficulties and challenges in the battle against the disease, and that its policies had been optimized when the situation and time demanded. “Since the beginning of the epidemic, most cadres, especially medical personnel and grassroots workers, courageously persevered despite difficulties,” he said.
“Now, epidemic prevention and control is entering a new phase; it is still a time of struggle, everyone is persevering and working hard, and the dawn is near. Let’s work harder, persistence means victory, and unity means victory,” added the Chinese leader.
Earlier this month, Beijing ended its strict zero Covid policy, which was based on mass testing, centralized quarantine, tracking of infected people and lockdowns of cities with millions of people. The dismantling, which began gradually, gained momentum after thousands of Chinese people took to the streets to protest against the strictness of the regime’s policies.
The change, however, triggered a series of infections across the country. Scenes released by The New York Times, for example, show hospitals in Beijing crowded and patients being treated in the corridors of health facilities. Doctors say hospitals are overwhelmed, with up to six times more patients than normal, most of them elderly. Recently, health workers in the Chinese capital said they were being forced to work despite being infected with the virus.
According to the Chinese regime, however, the situation is much better than reported by the Western media. This Friday, for example, the country’s authorities announced only one new death from Covid, just like the day before.
UK-based health data company Airfinity, on the other hand, said on Thursday that around 9,000 people die every day in China due to complications from the disease. According to the company, the Asian country has recorded around 100,000 deaths from Covid since December 1, in addition to 18.6 million infections.
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