BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping urged officials to take steps to protect lives on Monday in his first public remarks on Covid-19 since Beijing dramatically loosened hardline containment measures this month.
He said the nation’s health campaign should be more targeted, and authorities should guide the public in developing good personal hygiene habits, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
“At present, Covid-19 prevention and control in China are facing a new situation and new tasks,” Mr Xi said in a directive, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
“We should launch the patriotic health campaign in a more targeted way ... fortify a community line of defence for epidemic prevention and control, and effectively protect people’s lives, safety and health,” he added.
Premier Li Keqiang also urged efforts to ensure the country meets demand for medical treatment and Covid-19 prevention supplies, said Xinhua.
China has been dismantling the rigorous Covid-19 suppression policy it had in place since the onset of the pandemic with infections now sweeping the nation of 1.4 billion. State media is urging citizens to take primary responsibility for their own health amid mass outbreaks.
The National Health Commission said on Sunday it will stop publishing daily Covid-19 surveillance data, making it difficult to track the spread of virus.
Daily infections may have reached 37 million in a single day last week, the commission estimated, according to minutes from an internal meeting confirmed by people involved in the discussions. If accurate, the figure would eclipse the previous daily global record of about 4 million, set in January.
China is likely to have 1 million Covid-19 infections and 5,000 virus deaths each day as it grapples with what is expected to be the biggest outbreak the world has ever seen, Bloomberg News reported earlier, citing research.
The country needs to ensure medical treatments for severe Covid-19 cases and the maintenance of normal medical order during the New Year and Spring Festival, Xinhua reported separately, citing a central government notice on work arrangements during the holidays. AFP, BLOOMBERG
