Xi Jinping, Who Declared the End of COVID-19, Orders Strengthened Control Amid Resurgence

Mentioned Again at the Politburo Standing Committee Meeting Since the September 2020 Declaration
Chinese-Style Control Measures Seem Unable to Keep Up with the Spread of Omicron

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed concern over the resurgence of COVID-19 and ordered early suppression.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This is the first time President Xi has mentioned the COVID-19 issue in an official meeting since the "de facto declaration of the end of COVID-19" in September 2020. It indicates that the spread of COVID-19 in China is becoming serious.

According to Chinese media including the state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 18th, President Xi attended a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee the day before and urged caution in epidemic prevention.

President Xi said, "Victory comes from perseverance," and ordered that "the spread of the epidemic must be suppressed as soon as possible." He also emphasized that more effective measures should be taken to maximize prevention and control effects at minimal cost and to minimize the impact of the epidemic on social and economic development. He added, "To make prevention and control more precise, efforts should be intensified in the research and development of medicines such as vaccines and rapid test reagents."

President Xi particularly stressed strengthening prevention and control in major port areas to block the overseas inflow of the Omicron variant virus. He warned that vigilance in epidemic management must not be relaxed and that if any job-related issues are identified, those responsible will be held strictly accountable.

Some local governments, including Jilin Province, Guangdong Province, and Shandong Province, have recently disciplined more than 60 local officials for negligence in COVID-19 prevention and control.

Although the top Chinese leader is concerned about the resurgence of COVID-19, the speed of transmission of the Omicron variant virus is outpacing control efforts.

As of midnight on the 17th, the number of new confirmed cases was 2,388 (excluding 1,742 asymptomatic infections). Daily confirmed cases in Jilin Province were 1,210 (Changchun 585), Fujian Province 113, Guangdong Province 74 (Shenzhen 69), Shandong Province 61, Shanghai 57, Liaoning Province 46, Shanxi Province 33, Hebei Province 24, Heilongjiang Province 16, Zhejiang Province 13, Beijing 7, with confirmed cases emerging across China. This is an increase from the previous day's 2,432 new confirmed cases (excluding 1,206 asymptomatic infections).

Meanwhile, Shenzhen city authorities in Guangdong Province announced that although the epidemic prevention and control situation remains serious, it is deemed controllable, and public transportation such as buses and subways will resume from the 19th. They also added that some control procedures will be eased to ensure smooth logistics flow. Shenzhen had initially announced that public transportation would be restricted until the 20th.

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