China CDC chief epidemiologist attends 25th SPIEF

Prof. Zunyou Wu, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), attended the session themed on “The Sanitary Shield: Investing in Development” during the 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) via video link on June 17, 2022.

As one of the panelists of the session, Wu shared China’s dynamic zero-COVID approach and its effect in terms of COVID-19 control and prevention. He stressed that the strong leadership of the central government, close monitoring and early outbreak detection, active case-finding, scientific management of infected cases, and community mobilization are important factors for effective epidemic control and prevention.

He said that it would take time for the COVID-19 pandemic to end. In addition to vaccination, China has built fangcang shelter hospitals or makeshift facilities for centralized isolation and quarantine, and arranged PCR testing stations for people in large cities within a radius of a 15-minutes’ walk, which have greatly improved the country’s testing and surveillance capabilities. These experiences will also serve as valuable lessons when dealing with future pandemics.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is a major international economic forum held in Russia and one of the most high-profile business events that bring together leaders of new economic powers. So far, it has been successfully held more than 20 times and is known as the "Russian version of Davos".