The nucleic acid testing in a lab Source: VCG

 
China's dynamic zero-COVID policy is aimed at improving the capability of epidemic prevention and control as well as early detection, so that infections can be found quickly and the epidemic can be controlled with the lowest social cost, an official said at a "China in the Past Decade" press conference on Wednesday. 

China's COVID-19 prevention and control measures are the most economical, and also the most efficient one, said Chang Jile, vice administrator of National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, in response to a question asking about China's current COVID-19 prevention and control policies.

Chinese central government has always required conducting the precise prevention and control, trying to achieve the most efficient effect with the minimum cost, and minimizing the impact toward the economic and social development, said Chang.

We should evaluate the epidemic prevention and control cost in terms of the economy, community, people's livelihood and heath across the entire country in a general view, as China has always put people and their lives first in epidemic prevention and control, according to Chang.

These preventive measures are aimed to minimize the economic and social impact brought by the epidemic outbreak, despite some of the measures will bring some inconvenience toward people's normal life. However, the strict measures taken in COVID-19 risky regions ensure the normal production and health of people in most regions in the country, as well as making sure the stability of the supply chain, Chang said.

The Chinese mainland on Tuesday reported 323 local confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,247 local asymptomatic carriers, according to the National Health Commission on Wednesday. 

The COVID-19 infected regions have been making efforts to curb the virus in a rapid manner, with experts noting that frequent nucleic acid testing being one of the measures to detect the possible infectors rapidly, but long-term focus should be put on the vaccines and anti-virus drugs research and development.

We are facing a once-in-a-century global pandemic, and the current pandemic is still at "a high level" and the virus is still mutating, so that the risks and uncertainties brought by the virus still exist, Chang said. We must constantly "optimize prevention and control policies", and effectively coordinate epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development in a scientific approach, according to Chang.