Chinese political leadership backs controversial ‘COVID Zero’ strategy to curb contagion

Nov. 10 (EUROPA PRESS) –

China’s main political leaders, including the president, Xi Jinping, have supported the restrictive ‘COVID Zero’ strategy to curb the growing infections in the Asian giant, despite the controversy that this policy has caused since its implementation as soon as the outbreak of the pandemic. pandemic.

At a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, chaired by Xi himself, the country’s political leadership has called for “more decisive” measures to be applied to stop the spread of the virus, within the framework of important outbreaks in recent weeks.

These demands come at a time when the health situation “remains serious”, but there is also an urgent need to return to normality and resume industrial production, according to the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua.

In this way, the Chinese Communist Party leadership has nipped in the bud speculation about abandoning the ‘COVID Zero’ strategy or any easing of restrictions. In recent days, some of the country’s main cities, such as the capital, Beijing; Canton or Chongqing have confirmed rising infection data.

These are the first public statements by the body on the coronavirus since the Communist Party culminated its 20th National Congress on October 22, in which it elected a new composition of the Central Committee and its highest governing bodies.

China has experienced strong outbreaks in various parts of the country in recent weeks, a situation that, according to the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, could worsen “influenced by the mutation of the virus and the climatic factors of winter and spring.”

“The prevention and control situation remains serious. We must maintain strategic determination and do a good job in the prevention and control of the epidemic in a scientific and precise manner,” the agency has settled in a statement collected by the aforementioned Chinese agency. .

Since the start of the pandemic, the Asian giant’s health authorities have registered just over a million cases and 5,226 deaths, in part thanks to the strict restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the disease.