Epidemic prevention and control work at crucial stage, says top leadership

A top Party leadership meeting on Thursday stated that China is certain to triumph in its battle against COVID-19, armed with its scientific, effective and time-tested policies on epidemic control.

The meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee was presided over by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, who also delivered an important speech at the meeting.

The meeting's participants said it has been proved that China's COVID response guidelines are determined by the nature and purpose of the Party, its preventive policies can stand the test of history and its preventive measures are science-based and effective, according to a statement released after the meeting.

China won the fight against COVID-19 in Wuhan, and it is certain to win the antivirus battle in Shanghai, they said.

The current epidemic prevention and control work is at a crucial stage, they said, like a boat sailing against the current that must forge ahead or it will be driven back.

Since the start of the pandemic, China has been committed to putting people and lives first, guarding against imported cases and domestic resurgences, and sticking to the dynamic zero-COVID approach, which is adjusted according to specific conditions, they said.

China has withstood the most challenging COVID-19 control test since the anti-epidemic battle in Wuhan, and has secured progress with concerted efforts nationwide since March, they said.

As the pandemic continues and the virus keeps mutating, the meeting's participants stressed that great uncertainties remain and it is far from the time to relax the efforts in battling the virus.

The meeting's participants stressed that China is a populous country with a large elderly population and uneven development in different regions. The country lacks adequate medical resources for the whole population, so relaxing response measures would definitely lead to large-scale infections, along with many severe cases and fatalities.

China's economic and social development－as well as the life and health of the Chinese people－would be severely affected, they said.

The meeting's participants underlined the importance of fully and comprehensively understanding the guidelines and policies determined by the CPC Central Committee, saying that the dynamic zero-COVID approach must be firmly adhered to.

Efforts must be made to overcome problems such as inadequate preparations and to always remain sober-minded when conducting anti-epidemic work, they said.

The meeting called on Party committees and governments at all levels to be confident, aware of the complexity and arduousness of the anti-COVID battle, firmly implement the CPC Central Committee's decisions and arrangements, consolidate the hard-earned progress in virus prevention and control, and be duty bound to the areas or regions that they are responsible for.

The meeting's participants stressed that efforts must be made to speed up the response to local clusters of outbreaks and ensure that infected people and those who are at risk are screened and placed in quarantine in a timely matter.

Regions and provinces should be well prepared with abundant staffing and materials, they said.

Preventive measures must be refined with greater efforts in studying and guarding against the variants of the virus instead of using the same measures for each.

Meanwhile, efforts should be made to guarantee people's basic livelihoods and the supply of daily necessities, and to ensure that people requiring medical services can go to a hospital.

The meeting's participants also stressed strictly implementing the regular epidemic response measures and preventing imported cases.

Noting that the fight against the virus must closely rely on the people, the meeting's participants said that authorities should release information more frequently, take the initiative in responding to concerns from society, encourage the public to raise their awareness of protective measures against the virus, and further promote vaccination.

The meeting's participants required Party committees and governments at all levels, as well as all sectors of society, to coordinate their thoughts and actions with the CPC Central Committee's decisions and arrangements and remain highly consistent with the CPC Central Committee ideologically, politically and in terms of action.

In this battle, any sense of inaction, weariness or seeking to relax must be overcome, and not a single minute can be wasted in implementing all kinds of preventive measures, the meeting's participants said.

They also said that Party organizations, members and officials must continue to take the lead and serve as examples in the anti-COVID fight.