China based Covid U-turn on big economic, social picture, top adviser says

Name: China opens thousands of ‘fever clinics’ as it shifts Covid focus from prevention to treatment
Uploaded: 2022-12-16T13:14:50.000Z
Duration: 3 min 16 s
Description: China opens thousands of ‘fever clinics’ as it shifts Covid focus from prevention to treatment

Epidemiologist says public health was not the only factor at play in the central government’s decision to abandon zero-Covid restrictions

The virus has spread much faster than expected and more booster shots are needed, he says

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Residents line up to enter the fever clinic of a hospital in Beijing amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Photo: AP

Josephine MaandPhoebe Zhang

Published: 9:14pm, 16 Dec 2022

Beijing relaxed zero-Covid restrictions before it could boost the vaccination rate because it had to strike an economic and social balance, according to a former top epidemiologist.

“If we purely look at it from a public health perspective, we would have preferred to delay [the new measures] a bit, such as waiting until vaccine coverage is stronger,” Zeng Guang, a senior adviser to the central government on coronavirus control, told a forum in Beijing on Friday.

“This is especially so since people had their third doses some time ago and the vaccination rate among the elderly is not high enough.

“However, the central government makes policies based on a range of considerations, such as economic development, social stability, the employment rate and international relations.”

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China opens thousands of ‘fever clinics’ as it shifts Covid focus from prevention to treatment

Last week, China announced a 10-point plan that included dropping mass testing, health codes and centralised quarantine requirements for most cases.