Chinese government response to COVID-19

rdf:langString Chinese government response to COVID-19

rdf:langString confirmed_case_def

rdf:langString —Cyberspace Administration of China

rdf:langString March 2022

rdf:langString "Do not use 'incurable', 'fatal'[,] or similar headlines to avoid causing societal panic."

rdf:langString Youtube video not viewable by many users

rdf:langString The government only classifies cases as "confirmed" when the patient meets specific criteria. As of March 2022, the current requirements are a positive test and two out of three signs: COVID symptoms, CT pneumonia diagnosis, and blood count changes; the remainder is termed "asymptomatic". In other words, one can be labelled "asymptomatic" despite showing cold-like symptoms. Cases which are asymptomatic are reported separately.

rdf:langString Internal government directive given to all news websites, February 2020

rdf:langString During the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, the government of China under CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's administration pursued a zero-COVID strategy to prevent the domestic spread of COVID-19. Aspects of the response have been controversial, with the zero-COVID approach being praised and the government's lack of transparency, censorship, and spread of misinformation being criticized. After discovery of a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown etiology in Wuhan, Hubei Province, a public notice on the outbreak was distributed on 31 December 2019. On 8 January 2020, a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was announced by Chinese scientists as the cause of the new disease; the virus was sequenced and its genome uploaded online. On 23 January 2020, the Chinese government banned travel to and from Wuhan, enforced strict quarantines in affected regions and initiated a national response. The epidemic in Hubei province peaked on 4 February 2020. Large temporary hospitals were built in Wuhan to isolate patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms, with the first opening on 5 February 2020. The epidemic was heavily concentrated within Hubei province and Wuhan. Through 22 March 2020, over 80% of the recorded cases in China were in Hubei province, with over 60% of cases nationwide occurring in Wuhan alone. By the summer of 2020, China had largely brought the outbreak under control, ending widespread community transmission. After the initial outbreak, lockdowns and other restrictive measures were eased throughout China. The lockdown in Wuhan was lifted on 8 April 2020. It is estimated that the epidemic control measures held the death toll due to COVID-19 in Wuhan to under 5,000 from January to March 2020. China is one of a small number of countries that have pursued an elimination strategy, sustaining zero or low case numbers over the long term. Most cases in China are imported from abroad, and several new outbreaks have been quickly controlled through intense short-term public health measures, including large-scale testing, contact tracking technology, and mandatory isolation of infected individuals. In the 18 months after the containment of the initial outbreak in Wuhan, two COVID-19 deaths were recorded. In 2020 and 2021, China was the largest exporter of COVID-19 critical medical products. China was the world's largest exporter of face masks, increasing exports by around 600% in the first half of 2020. A number of COVID-19 vaccines have been developed in China, which have been used in its vaccination programme and international vaccine diplomacy. Through November 2021, China was the world's largest exporter of COVID-19 vaccines, with a cumulative share of around 40% of worldwide exports (totalling around 1.5 billion doses), according to the World Trade Organization. China's response to the initial Wuhan COVID-19 outbreak has been both praised and criticised. In October 2020, The Lancet Infectious Diseases reported: "While the world is struggling to control COVID-19, China has managed to control the pandemic rapidly and effectively." The Chinese government has been criticized for censorship, which observers have attributed to a culture of institutional censorship affecting the country's press and Internet. The government censored whistleblowers, journalists, and social media posts about the outbreak. During the beginning of the pandemic, the Chinese government made efforts to clamp down on discussion and hide reporting about it, as such information was seen as unfavorable for local officials. Efforts to fund and control research into the virus's origins have continued up to the present.