A staff member of an airport receives a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at Dizhang health center, in Xixian New Area, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Dec. 25, 2020.(Photo: Xinhua)
China on Wednesday announced that it had recorded zero new domestic COVID-19 cases for a third consecutive day, after nearly two months of strenuous efforts made in the country’s latest fight against a new round of coronavirus flare-ups this winter.
Health experts have attributed the phased victory to the timely and targeted anti-pandemic response across the country, which prevented large-scale spread of the virus.
According to the latest update by the National Health Commission on Wednesday, the Chinese mainland reported no new domestic infections, with no new asymptomatic cases, suspected cases, or deaths on Tuesday.
Some 14 new confirmed patients and seven silent carriers were recorded, all imported from overseas.
After reporting zero new local infections for 11 consecutive days, Beijing lowered its risk level for contracting COVID-19 in some areas of the Daxing district from media to low, clearing all high and medium-risk areas in the city, local authorities announced Tuesday.
So far, there remain six high-risk regions and 16 medium-risk regions in the Chinese mainland that are still under close observation, located mainly in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, hit the hardest by the latest winter outbreak.
Experts reached by the Global Times said this marks a victory in curbing this round of the epidemic. Wang Peiyu, a deputy head of Peking University's School of Public Health, attributed the achievements to the targeted virus prevention measures.
"For regions that are producing relatively precise and clear epidemiological surveys, some more accurate methods have been taken; while for other regions, mass screening was carried out to stop the virus from spreading silently among people. Either way, they have proven effective," Wang told the Global Times.
Yang Zhanqiu, a deputy director of the pathogen biology department at Wuhan University, agreed, saying that a safe environment across the country has been ensured before the busiest gathering period of the Spring Festival.
In addition, experts have expressed a positive view for the months ahead. The ongoing mass vaccination drive, coupled with government initiatives advising local residents to stay put during the holiday, will contain the disease effectively, noted analysts.
The active coping with the epidemic has captured the attention of overseas media. The Singaporean news outlet Lianhe Zaobao published an article on Sunday, saying young Chinese have been inspired by the success of viral fight, and have taken more pride in the country.
It features changes in the attitudes of Chinese youths in the post-pandemic era, which have experienced a surge in recognition of China’s political system, in sharp contrast to the strong opposition toward the US which instigated countless obstacles in China-US relation with its double standards.
Rong Xiapei, a 25-year-old graduate from Shanghai, told Lianhe Zaobao that “Western media thought that this would have caused a major turmoil in China, but then we saw that the pandemic became a 'Chernobyl disaster' for themselves, exposing some serious problems in Western countries."