China says latest COVID-19 resurgence more complicated but “controllable”
CHINA: The latest resurgence of COVID-19 in China, caused mainly by the Delta variant, is more complicated but the epidemic is generally controllable, Chinese officials said Thursday.
In the latest wave, 15 provincial-level regions -- out of 31 -- on the Chinese mainland have reported COVID-19 infections, said He Qinghua, a senior official with the National Health Commission (NHC), at a press conference organized by the State Council inter-agency task force.
"As long as local authorities strictly implement various prevention and control measures, I think the epidemic will be largely under control within two to three incubation periods," he said.
He acknowledged that the current wave is more complicated and has put some strain on response efforts since it has multiple imported sources and has affected a wide range of people and places.
An NHC spokesperson said at the press conference that there is an increasing risk of the epidemic spreading as sporadic outbreaks took place in multiple places during the peak of summer travel. Whenever there is an outbreak, the most stringent measures must be taken to bring the epidemic under control as swiftly as possible, said Mi Feng, the spokesperson.
He Qinghua said China's current COVID-19 containment measures are effective against the variant. Vaccines administered across the country -- having surpassed 1.72 billion doses as of Wednesday -- also demonstrate good preventive and protective effects against the variant, he said.
China had earlier successfully stopped the spread of the variant in multiple densely-populated regions with high population mobility in Guangdong Province, which proves measures including vaccination, wearing masks, washing hands frequently, keeping social distance, and avoiding crowded places are effective, the official said.
China is also stepping up efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the tourism and culture sectors, said Yu Changguo, an official with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
As of Wednesday, 1,152 tourist attractions with A ratings, the country's highest rating for scenic spots, had been temporarily closed to visitors as requested, according to Yu.
- XINHUA
source http://www.dailynews.lk/2021/08/07/world/255990/china-says-latest-covid-19-resurgence-more-complicated-%E2%80%9Ccontrollable%E2%80%9D
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