Strict virus control measures to continue, says national health body

China will continue to implement its existing COVID-19 control measures as they are science-based, effective and necessary amid the raging pandemic, Wu Liangyou, deputy director of the National Health Commission's disease prevention and control bureau, said on Saturday.

He made the comment in response to a question on the prospect of dialing back what has been interpreted as "zero tolerance" policy against COVID-19— that is, aiming to eradicate all domestic cases whenever a fresh outbreak occurs.

"At present, the novel coronavirus's spread around the globe, and especially in China's neighboring countries, is unstable and rampant, and the domestic epidemic situation remains complicated and severe this winter and spring," he said during a news briefing.

"We will continue to enforce strict virus control measures, solidifying the defense against imported cases and local flare-ups, and consolidate our hard-won outcomes in stemming the virus," he said.

Since China brought the first wave of domestic outbreaks concentrated in Hubei province under control, the country has experienced over 30 locally transmitted outbreaks, all of which have been triggered by imported cases, he said.

"Real-world practices have shown that our disease control strategy fits the condition of the country and is science-based. The strategy has also balanced disease control requests and development of society and economy," he said.

China's latest COVID-19 outbreaks have affected 20 provincial-level regions, according to the commission. Mi Feng, a spokesman of the commission, said COVID-19 cases are increasing globally since mid-October, piling pressure on China's defense against imported cases.

"The recent local outbreaks have involved several ports and have resulted in a number of chains of transmission," he said during a briefing. Wu added that China had reported 918 confirmed local infections from Oct 17 to Friday.

Genome sequencing and epidemiological investigation results show that recent outbreaks were caused by different sources of imported cases, he said.

While many regions, including the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Gansu province and Beijing, have brought the virus under control or are on track to achieving the goal, Wu said the outbreak situation in Heilongjiang, Hebei, Henan, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Liaoning provinces and Chongqing are still developing and requires close monitoring.