BEIJING: In an editorial published earlier this month, China s top Covid expert Zhong Nanshan recommended the country reopen in an orderly manner to bring social and economic development back to normal and adapt to the global reopening.China s leading respiratory expert Zhong s views were published earlier this month in the National Science Review NSR , an English language journal affiliated with China s top science research institute, the Chinese Academy of Sciences.However, reports said Zhong s NSR editorial titled Strategies for reopening in the forthcoming Covid 19 era in China was published in Chinese media but deleted soon after, likely because it did not conform to the official line that China will not be opened any time soon. Prolonged dynamic zeroing cannot be pursued in the long run, wrote Zhong, the feted doctor at the forefront of China s Covid 19 battle since 2020.The view goes against the Chinese government s decision to double down on its stringent virus containment policies to curb outbreaks, like the one ongoing in Shanghai.The city on Friday reported 11 deaths, its highest one day toll so far, along with 1,931 symptomatic and 15,698 asymptomatic infections for the day before.Shanghai authorities on Friday extended the static management measures until at least April 26 to track down Omicron cases in the city, as its 25 million residents continue to be under a lockdown.Local authorities are now focusing on a societal zero Covid aim, in which all new cases reported, if at all, must be only be inside quarantine zones or among isolated contacts, and not among the general public.The crisis in China s financial hub is leading to an exodus of expatriates and global businesses.Zhong s editorial in English is still available on the NSR website.
nbsp;In it, he says, China needs to reopen so as to normalise socio economic development and adapt to global reopening. Prolonged dynamic zeroing cannot be pursued in the long run. It was co written with Guan Weijie, an associate researcher with the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease SKLRD at Guangzhou Medical University.The editorial says that the community based dynamic zero policy has played a pivotal role in minimising the number of laboratory confirmed cases and deaths in mainland China , adding that the rapid roll out of vaccinations, as well as herd immunity, have formed the fundamentals of the total opening of some developed countries.This, however, does not necessarily justify rapid and total opening in mainland China because the Omicron variant has a higher mortality risk than seasonal influenza, and would likely result in social instability and the emergence of other novel variants with a greater infectivity, it says. However, China needs to reopen so as to normalise socio economic development and adapt to global reopening.
Prolonged dynamic zeroing cannot be pursued in the long run, the editorial said.The authors made recommendations on how China could reopen in an orderly and effective manner.The country, for one, should enforce nationwide vaccination, especially to protect the elderly, and boost immunity by mixing vaccines to markedly enhance protection against the Omicron variant .Rapid antigen tests should also be used to identify cases in a timely manner. Antigen testing has been associated with significantly shorter turnaround times and less reliance on medical facilities and personnel compared to nucleic acid testing, the authors said.Investigation of infected cases during the latency and convalescent period, they said, would inform the policy maker with regard to the minimal duration of quarantine and the management of repositive cases after hospital discharge. Finally, performing pilot investigations in certain designated cities or regions, as well as adjusting the policy according to the epidemic characteristics of imported cases, will be equally vital for verifying the outcomes of the transition towards safe and orderly social reopening in China.
Some changes to quarantine rules are already being tested from April 10. China has launched pilot programs in Shanghai, Guangzhou and six other cities to test out looser quarantine requirements for residents in locked down communities, travellers from outside the country and the close contacts of confirmed Covid 19 cases, the Caixin media portal reported earlier this month, citing a government document.The report said that in participating cities, centralised quarantine requirements for international travellers have been shortened from 14 to 10 days, after which they will have to spend a week under observation at home.
