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Jilin province’s Covid battle shows China’s policies can work, Communist Party mouthpiece says
- Officials in the northeastern province say they have reached ‘social zero Covid’, with hundreds of new cases – but only among people already in quarantine
- People’s Daily says this shows the country is on the right course and must redouble its efforts to stop the disease spreading
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Jilin province has shown that China’s zero-Covid policies are achievable, a front-page article in the Communist Party’s mouthpiece said on Sunday, as sporadic lockdowns around the country continue to hit the economy and people’s daily lives.
“All cities in Jilin province have achieved ‘social zero Covid’ by now”, the commentary in People’s Daily said, referring to a situation when all new cases are found among people already in quarantine.
“The facts have proved that we not only have the experience for ‘dynamic zero-Covid’, but also the capacity to achieve it.”
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The piece argued that China was correct to stick to its course and the battle could only be won quickly by acting swiftly and with greater determination.
The article was published amid heated debate about the social and economic cost of the existing policies and an ongoing lockdown in large areas of Shanghai.
The piece did not mention the Shanghai outbreak, where another 24,820 new cases were reported on Sunday, or the vast difference in the size and nature of the economies in Jilin and Shanghai.
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