The number of COVID-19 confirmed cases is soaring in China, which scrapped the high-intensity COVID-19 quarantine policy “Zero Corona” and turned sharply to “With Corona.” In response, the U.S. government stressed the appropriate response to COVID-19, fearing that new mutations may emerge.
According to Bloomberg News, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a regular briefing on the 19th (local time), “We hope this problem will be resolved in relation to the current COVID-19 outbreak in China,” adding, “We know that it can cause mutations every time the virus spreads and pose a threat to people in all regions.”
“We have confirmed this fact through various genetic sequences of the (COVID-19) virus, which is one of the reasons why countries around the world are focusing on responding to COVID-19,” a spokesman for Price said. “Considering China’s gross domestic product (GDP), the size of the infection is important to other countries,” he said. “It is not only in China but also in the interests of the whole world that China manages COVID-19 well.”
Earlier, the Chinese government virtually scrapped the “Zero Corona” policy, which has continued for nearly three years. On the 7th, the Chinese government announced 10 additional quarantine optimization measures, including allowing self-isolation and minimizing nucleic acid (PCR) tests, following 20 quarantine optimization measures last month.
However, infectious disease experts warned of the risk of easing the Chinese government’s “zero corona” policy. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said at the “Global Boardroom” event hosted by the Financial Times on the 7th, “A large-scale infection provides sufficient opportunity for the virus to mutate,” and worried, “A whole new mutation that affects the world could occur due to the massive spread in China.”
Currently, in China, the number of deaths seems to be increasing rapidly as the number of infected people increases sharply due to the sudden transition to “With Corona.” On the 19th, Chinese health authorities said that two deaths from COVID-19 infection occurred in 31 provinces nationwide, but there have been reports that crematoriums and funeral halls in each region are saturated in China.
It is also on alert to secure intensive care beds and medical personnel. On the 20th, the state-run Global Times reported that there were 138,100 ICU beds across China, citing recent data from the National Hygiene and Health Commission. This is 9.8 per 100,000 Chinese population, which is far short of Germany (28.2) or the United States (21.6).
There are not enough professional medical personnel. “Most hospitals are borrowing employees from other medical institutions, and only some hospitals are urgently training ICU medical staff and nursing personnel,” quarantine expert Zhang Wesin told the Global Times.
ASIA JOURNAL
TED PARK
