Zero-tolerance only way to prevent virus from running riot again: China Daily editorial

Over the past week, Europe has seen 2 million new novel coronavirus infections, and the United States, about 700,000 new cases.

No wonder the World Health Organization has urged the developed countries to evaluate the current circumstances, and take more effective measures to check the fast spread of the virus.

It was against this backdrop that China's National Health Commission reiterated on the weekend that the country's zero-tolerance approach to the virus is "unshakable".

This should be taken as a response to a rising call in the country for an easing of the measures that have been put in place nationwide to halt the latest wave of the virus.

The worsening epidemics in the developed countries should awaken those thinking it is no longer necessary to uphold the zero-tolerance attitude to the virus to the fact that the virus remains a grave threat to public health, and it has only become a more formidable enemy with the appearance of more infectious and fatal variants. The fight against the virus cannot be won by only relying on vaccines, which are primarily helpful in reducing the severity of infection and the mortality rate.

It is the previous sense that life in China was returning to normal that has given some people the impression that the strict epidemic prevention and control measures are outdated and no longer needed. Yet it is thanks to these measures that the number of new cases reported each day is counted only in dozens, including imported ones.

And given the extent to which socioeconomic activities have recovered in the country — China was the only major economy to register positive growth last year, and assumes an even bigger role in world trade sustaining the stability of the global supply chains — it is fair to say that China has kept a good dynamic balance between epidemic prevention and control and economic growth. That is a hard-won result that should not be allowed to slip.

China has formed a multilayered defense system against the virus that works. Apart from the nationwide vaccination drive, the country's adherence to "early diagnosis, early quarantine and early treatment" has proved effective in cutting transmission chains. Not to mention the personal hygiene and social distancing protocols people follow. Were it not for the joint efforts of all stakeholders, the dozens of cases that have appeared might have sparked a wildfire overnight.

The goal and rationale for China's prevention and control endeavors are very clear, and they can be summarized as putting people first, doing everything possible to protect people's health, ensure the normal operation of society and promote social and economic development. Both the nation and the rest of the world benefit from the country's steadfast commitment to these.

There is no room for compromise with such an opportunistic enemy.