Among China's 'Quarantine Hero' Zhong Nanshan: "The Second Global COVID Wave Has Begun, But Not for Us"

'Corona Hero' Zhong Nanshan Receives New Republic Medal from Xi Jinping
[Image Source = Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Zhong Nanshan (鐘南山), a senior expert and team leader at the National Health Commission of China, who is regarded as a hero in China's epidemic prevention efforts, predicted that "unlike the rest of the world, China has a low possibility of a second outbreak of COVID-19."

According to foreign media on the 31st, Zhong Nanshan recently stated at the "Healthy China Summit Forum" held in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, "Some countries have started a second wave of COVID-19 from a global perspective, with forced lockdown measures being reintroduced," and predicted, "As temperatures drop, except for some southern regions such as South Africa, most northern regions will experience an intensified epidemic spread."

However, he said, "China strictly enforces a perfect epidemic prevention system nationwide, so if the current level of prevention is maintained, a second wave of COVID-19 is unlikely to occur."

He added, "Since the beginning of this year, sporadic cluster infections of COVID-19 have occurred from Wuhan to Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region," and urged, "Special attention must be paid to prevent sporadic infection cases from emerging in some areas."

Zhong predicted that the risks of novel flu and influenza would be low. Although some cases of novel flu infections have been detected this year, social distancing and mask-wearing have been effective in preventing epidemics. He said, "Personal prevention measures to block COVID-19 also demonstrate effectiveness in preventing influenza."

Meanwhile, at the forum, Gao Fu (高福), director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, mentioned that scientists had anticipated the COVID-19 pandemic.

He stated, "For the general public, the COVID-19 pandemic was a black swan (an event with low probability but huge impact when it occurs), but for scientists, it was a gray rhino (a risk that is foreseeable but often overlooked until it materializes)."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.