Medical staff take swab samples from residents for nucleic acid test in Putuo District of east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2022.Photo:Xinhua

China should stick to dynamic zero-COVID policy rather than "lie flat," said Wu Fan, a leading expert with Shanghai's COVID-19 medical team, noting that antivirus measures should be properly followed to tame the virus with the lowest costs. 

Wu, also deputy dean of the Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, said during an interview that nobody knows how the virus will mutate in the future. She said it is possible that the virus may become less lethal yet more contagious and pathogenic, reported ThePaper.

The virus has upended normal perception virologists have for viruses, such as rapid mutation and evade immune system, thus it is important to stick to dynamic zero-COVID policy for now, she noted.

Wu also said most evidence confirming that Omicron becomes less severe is from other countries, where the proportion of the populations that acquired immune system differs from that of China. She further explained that most people in those countries obtained immunity by large scale infections, which also cost many lives. In addition, she said, most Westerners are vaccinated. 

China hasn't faced a wide-scale onslaught of COVID-19 since most people acquired immunity via vaccination, Wu said. "It is unscientific to talk about more mild cases and less severe cases without taking into consideration of such different immunity situation." 

She made reference to the severe situation in Hong Kong, where a high death rate was recorded when being savaged by the Omicron variant. "The situation in Hong Kong also serves as reminder to the mainland, that is to be more cautious of Omicron," said Wu, noting that dynamic zero-COVID policy is also to protect the elderly group with weak immune system.

The Shanghai medical expert also whisked off the possibility of a strategy that keeps low infections, not crush medical system. She said the virus, as it spreads widely, in the long term it will mutate, also it is hard to say if the current medical system can handle a large number of infections. 

She said experimenting such a strategy, even in places where medical system is relatively better, is dangerous as the risk of a spillover still exists. 

Wu said vaccines, medicines are still the best weapons to help fight against the COVID-19 virus. She also urged for differentiated COVID-19 measures in different places in China. 

"Places should adopt most suitable anti-virus measures at different stage of COVID-19 outbreak, and in accordance with resources of different places," she said.