Though China is only recording a small number of new Covid-19 cases, it remains vulnerable as most residents are still susceptible to the virus, so measures such as contact tracing and quarantining will continue to be vital, senior Chinese disease control officials argue in a new paper.
The paper’s authors, led by the head of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Gao Fu, and its Deputy Director-General, Feng Zijian, said China’s efforts to contain the spread of disease through testing, quarantine, travel restrictions and social distancing have been “largely successful.”
The Chinese mainland reported (link in Chinese) only 11 new confirmed Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, all among travelers from overseas, according to China’s National Health Commission (NHC).
However, the authors write that the social and economic costs of maintaining these measures is “high and unsustainable,” especially given that “almost the entire population of China remains susceptible.”
Moreover, “the risk of local transmission introduced by internationally imported cases remains a major concern,” said the paper, which was published in The Lancet medical journal on June 4.
Also, Wang Chen, a respiratory disease expert and head of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, warned at a seminar Tuesday the virus would not disappear and could flare up again in winter or autumn. It seemed to spread easily in Guangzhou around January and in Beijing around March, Wang said.
The paper argued that the measures which proved most effective in curbing the spread of the disease in the country’s “containment phase,” namely “detection, isolation, and contact tracing with quarantine,” would be essential in China’s pathway forward as the country relaxes its social distancing measures and work on a vaccine continues.
“The most urgent and important measure of the containment and suppression strategies is scaling up testing of each suspected case and all close contacts of those infected,” the paper said.
China has so far approved five vaccine candidates for clinical trials, according to a white paper published on Sunday by the Chinese government.
Contact editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)
