Nation can take pride in saving lives: China Daily editorial

Practice has proved that China's prevention and control policy is scientific and effective. Determined by the needs of the situation, it takes full advantage of the institutional advantages of the country to serve the people. It will stand the test of history.

Those doubting China's COVID-19 policy ignore the fact that, in light of the Omicron variant's transmission speed and fatality rate, a large number of severe cases and deaths would occur in the country over a short time if it chose to live with the virus.

According to the latest study led by the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, the risks of hospitalization and mortality, in case of infection from the Omicron variant of COVID-19, were "nearly identical between previous waves of Covid-19".

With the pandemic raging worldwide and the virus continuously mutating, in which direction the global health crisis will develop remains unclear. Thus, no matter how far the country has come to where it is today in the fight against the virus, it is far from a respite moment.

So, as the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee emphasized in a meeting on Thursday, the nation will not forgo its dynamic clearing policy.

China has always been committed to putting people first in the fight against the virus. As of last week, the Chinese mainland, with nearly 20 percent of the world population, accounted for only 0.08 percent of the 6.25 million COVID-19 deaths worldwide. In contrast, the United States, the largest developed country, with less than 4 percent of the global population accounted for 16 percent of the world's COVID-19 deaths, with over 1 million lives claimed by the virus.

China has about 176 million people who are aged 65 and above, which is tantamount to the elderly population of the United States, the European Union and Japan put together. Yet, the medical care resources accessible to the aged population in China, many of whom have underlying diseases, on average pales in comparison with that available to senior citizens in the developed economies. That gap explains China's steadfast virus control measures, as it cannot afford to lay down its arms when it can still fight.

It is not that the virus has become less deadly that has led some developed countries to re-open but that they have abandoned all efforts to fight it. No matter how many developed countries are members of the "lying flat" club, China will not follow their example.

Instead, it will continue to keep fighting the virus as if every day is their first encounter. That is something the nation can take pride in, as it speaks volumes of the tremendous significance the country attaches to protecting its people, as well as the unique institutional strengths that it can employ to do so.

Before more scientific and effective approaches appear to contain the virus, China will continue to unswervingly fight against the virus. History will tell that was the rational and correct choice.