China said it would continue to classify Covid-19 as a “class B epidemic” after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it had lifted its “international public health emergency” status.
National Health Commission officials, at the press conference they held, stated that the WHO’s decision does not mean that the global risk has disappeared, but that it is time to treat the disease like other epidemics instead of an emergency.
Officials noted that China has already classified Kovid-19 as a “class B epidemic” and will continue to take measures in this context.
Mi Fıng, the Spokesperson of the Commission with the status of a Ministry, pointed out that the virus still mutates and continues to spread at the local level, emphasizing the importance of local governments and health units to take the necessary measures to protect public health.
On January 8, China stopped treating Kovid-19 as a “category A epidemic”, lifted the quarantine measures and restrictions imposed under the Border Health and Quarantine Law, and reopened its borders to the world.
The status of “class A epidemic” required quarantine of infected people, tracing of close contacts, isolation and disinfection of venues. In “class B epidemic disease”, there is no quarantine obligation, and the treatment of critical cases is focused on instead of epidemic protection and control measures.
XBB ALT VARIANT Dominated
On the other hand, the researcher of the National Institute of Viral Diseases Control and Prevention, Çın Cao, reported that the XBB sub-variant of Omciron has recently become dominant in cases in the country.
Cao shared the information that the XBB sub-variant accounted for only 2 per thousand of the cases in mid-February, while the rate increased to 74.4 percent at the end of April.
Noting that XBB was detected in 97.5 percent of the cases originating from abroad in April, Cao evaluated that this was related to the global course of the epidemic.
With the abrupt lifting of epidemic control measures called “zero cases” in China at the end of 2022, which required massive shutdowns, quarantines and travel restrictions, cases increased rapidly, and the country faced the largest mass spread ever seen.
It was reported from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention that it was estimated that more than 1 billion people, who made up 82.4 percent of the population, were infected with the virus in the epidemic wave that emerged with the removal of restrictions. (AA)