GENEVA: China is facing “very difficult” times as it lifts its tough “no COVID” policy and allows people to live with the virus, posing challenges in hospital preparation and make sure everyone is fully protected, World Health Organization speak.
Beijing abruptly abandoned its zero-tolerance stance last week following protests against its often draconian COVID lockdown. The change, welcomed by many in the country, also raised concerns that infections could spike.
When asked about the policy changes, a WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday that China faces a “very difficult and difficult period.
“For any country to get out of very, very tight control is always very difficult,” she said, adding that other countries like Australia have had this experience.
“We’ve always said before: don’t go into lockdown too easily and too quickly because it’s really hard to get out.”
Among the challenges are making sure the population is “properly vaccinated” and preparing hospitals for both the potential for increased cases and the potential for the flock of people who may be infected with other diseases.
“There’s a lot of things you have to do at the community level, the hospital level, the national level to sustain that transition,” Harris more.
WHO does not normally comment on individual country policies, although the agency’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in May that China’s COVID policies are not sustainable.
WHO emergency department chief Mike Ryan said earlier this month he was pleased that China was adjusting its strategy and called on the country to continue to increase vaccination coverage.
Hunter PaulProfessor of medicine at Britain’s University of East Anglia, said many people in China were vaccinated too long ago to not be fully protected.
“The reality is that it takes away the benefit of the vaccination campaign,” he told Reuters. Not quite, but mostly.” “And, so it’s in a really tough spot.”
Beijing abruptly abandoned its zero-tolerance stance last week following protests against its often draconian COVID lockdown. The change, welcomed by many in the country, also raised concerns that infections could spike.
When asked about the policy changes, a WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday that China faces a “very difficult and difficult period.
“For any country to get out of very, very tight control is always very difficult,” she said, adding that other countries like Australia have had this experience.
“We’ve always said before: don’t go into lockdown too easily and too quickly because it’s really hard to get out.”
Among the challenges are making sure the population is “properly vaccinated” and preparing hospitals for both the potential for increased cases and the potential for the flock of people who may be infected with other diseases.
“There’s a lot of things you have to do at the community level, the hospital level, the national level to sustain that transition,” Harris more.
WHO does not normally comment on individual country policies, although the agency’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in May that China’s COVID policies are not sustainable.
WHO emergency department chief Mike Ryan said earlier this month he was pleased that China was adjusting its strategy and called on the country to continue to increase vaccination coverage.
Hunter PaulProfessor of medicine at Britain’s University of East Anglia, said many people in China were vaccinated too long ago to not be fully protected.
“The reality is that it takes away the benefit of the vaccination campaign,” he told Reuters. Not quite, but mostly.” “And, so it’s in a really tough spot.”
