“A decisive and major victory has been achieved in epidemic prevention and control,” said the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party Central Committee, adding that China had the “lowest death rate in the world.”
China’s top officials have declared a “decisive victory” over the COVID-19 epidemic, saying the country’s efforts have resulted in more than 200 million people receiving necessary treatment and the lowest death rate in the world.
“With continuous efforts to improve COVID-19 prevention and control measures since November 2022, China’s response has achieved a smooth transition in a relatively short time,” said the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party Central Committee at a meeting on Thursday.
“A decisive and major victory has been achieved in the prevention and control of the pandemic,” she added.
State media reported that about 800,000 severe cases had received appropriate treatment, but officials warned that while the epidemiological situation continues to improve in the country, the coronavirus continues to spread globally and continues to mutate.
China’s highest leading body (the Standing Committee of the Politburo) has warned all regions and departments to strengthen the medical service system, according to a report published by the official Xinhua News Agency.
In December, China abandoned its strict anti-virus policies, which had lasted for nearly three years, in the wake of unprecedented protests over the strict restrictions.
This shift unleashed the spread of COVID-19 among citizens who had been largely protected from the disease since it appeared in Wuhan in late 2019.
Several countries and the World Health Organization speculated that China had been reporting undercounts for months.
Chinese provinces spent at least 352 billion yuan (51.6 billion U.S. dollars) to contain COVID-19 in 2022, according to annual budget reports from local governments, leading to a slowdown in economic growth.
France abolishes the requirement that travelers from China have a negative Covid test
On Thursday, France abolished the requirement for travelers coming from China to have a negative COVID-19 test result of no more than 48 hours, a measure it imposed in early January following the outbreak of coronavirus infections in the Asian giant.
And the French embassy in Beijing said in a statement published by Chinese media on Thursday evening that, “As of February 16, passengers traveling from China to France are no longer required to present a negative result of a PCR test not exceeding 48 hours, nor to fill out a form.” health” related to COVID-19.
The statement added that Paris also decided to cancel the Covid-19 checks that the authorities were conducting at French airports on some passengers coming from China in samples that were randomly selected.
However, the statement stressed that the requirement to put a muzzle on board planes flying from China to France remains valid.
And in early January, Paris imposed these measures on travelers coming from China, who are 11 years old or older. The French authorities resorted to these restrictions to counter the significant increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in China, after the Asian giant abandoned its zero-Covid policy.
