Covid-19 in China: ‘Don’t forget people must still live and earn as we fight Omicron,’ says Shanghai expert
- As Shanghai reports 4 confirmed local and 979 asymptomatic infections, prominent epidemiologist urges authorities to ensure livelihoods and protect businesses
- In future, maintaining a normal life should be stressed as much as the ‘dynamic zero-Covid’ policy, says Zhang Wenhong
In a post on Weibo, the director of Huashan Hospital’s department of infectious diseases called for authorities to ensure residents’ livelihoods, keep medical channels open and protect private businesses as the city works to keep the outbreak under control.
In future, maintaining a normal life should be stressed as much as the “dynamic zero-Covid” policy, Zhang said.
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“These problems exist and we should not avoid them,” Zhang said. “In the future fight against the epidemic, we must solve these problems one by one. Otherwise, success against the outbreak will mean less.”
On Thursday, Shanghai announced four confirmed local cases and 979 asymptomatic local infections.
Amid an exponential rise in asymptomatic Omicron cases, Shanghai faced a “difficult battle”, Zhang said.
“The number of people infected is more than expected and medical resources have become stressed. Shanghai even launched backup hospitals,” he wrote.