Personal preventive measures still matter: China Daily editorial

Yes, the country's novel coronavirus prevention and control measures have proved effective. But the repeated emergence of sporadic local infections serves as a reminder that vigilance must be maintained.

On Saturday, there were five new local cases nationwide, four in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province and one in Southwest China's Sichuan province. The good news is that a previous high-risk area in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region has been downgraded to medium-risk. That means there are 14 medium-risk areas all over the country, seven in Inner Mongolia, five in Sichuan and two in Heilongjiang.

That the source of the 10 local infections in Sichuan in the past couple of weeks is still unknown is a reminder that apart from imported cold chain products, there might be some other sources of infection.

Given that the total number of infections worldwide is still rising sharply and there is no sign that the rampancy of the pandemic will be brought under control in the United States, or in those European countries and elsewhere where it is raging, the virus can still come into the country from overseas. As of Saturday, there were a total of 4,002 cases from overseas. There is also resurgence of infections in some Asian countries that are close neighbors, such as Japan and the Republic of Korea.

But walking on the streets of Beijing, one may see that an increasing number of residents do not wear face masks. Some people do not wear masks even when taking elevators in their apartment buildings. Some do not put on their masks until they are reminded by security guards in supermarkets or when using public transport. Even some who do wear masks only cover their mouths, not their nostrils, which actually exposes themselves to the danger of catching the virus if there is any in the air around them.

It was not easy for the country to get the virus under control. It has been the hard endeavors of many medical workers and the efforts of people from all walks of life that have made it possible for Chinese people to enjoy an environment generally free from the virus. It is thus obligatory for everyone to take necessary prevention measures to ensure that the virus cannot gain a foothold in the country.

It is also crucial that governments at all levels do not slacken their prevention and control measures at public venues.

Vaccines are on the way, and many consider that heralds the end of the pandemic. But the vaccines are not magic bullets, personal preventive measures will still matter even when people are inoculated. The introduction of vaccines is no reason for people to stop acting responsibly.