Toll of Covid-19 in China is a concern for world: US State Department
- China continues to grapple with the impact of loosening its zero-Covid protocol
- The US is concerned China’s outbreak might spawn new mutations of the virus
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Trace, test, lock down, repeat: Three years under China’s zero-Covid strategy
The United States hopes that China can address the current Covid-19 outbreak as the toll of the virus is a global concern due to the size of the Chinese economy, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday.
“The toll of the virus is of concern to the rest of the world given the size of China’s GDP, given the size of China’s economy,” Price told a daily briefing at the State Department.
“It’s not only good for China to be in a stronger position vis-à-vis Covid but it’s good for the rest of the world as well,” Price said.
He added that any time the virus is spreading it has the potential to mutate and pose a threat everywhere.
“We’ve seen that over the course of many different permutations of this virus and certainly another reason why we are so focused on helping countries around the world address Covid,” he said.
China reported its first Covid-related deaths in weeks on Monday amid rising doubts over whether the official count was capturing the full toll of a disease that is ripping through cities after the government relaxed strict antivirus controls.