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As I see it | China’s Dr Fauci talks about coexisting with the virus. Cue social media storm
- Virologist Zhang Wenhong has been criticised after saying countries will have to find a way to live with Covid-19
- The response to his remarks reflects fears about any change to the zero-tolerance strategy
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Trusted virologist Zhang Wenhong is under fire in China over remarks echoing what many experts around the world have said: that Covid-19 is not going away and we will have to learn to live with it.
Zhang has become a household name in China during the pandemic and has been compared to Anthony Fauci in the United States.
In a post on social media network Weibo on July 29, Zhang wrote: “The data tells us that even if everyone gets vaccinated, Covid-19 will still be spreading but the transmission rate and fatalities will be reduced.”
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He added that every country had to think of a way to coexist with the virus.
Other scientists like top respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan and Shi Zhengli from the Wuhan Institute of Virology have previously said the virus will be around for a long time.
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But Zhang’s remarks prompted criticism on social media after they were apparently addressed in an article by former health minister Gao Qiang. Posted on an account run by Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, many saw it as an official response.
Gao wrote that foreign governments were “shirking their responsibilities” by blaming the Delta variant for a rebound in cases.
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