On May 11 and 12, the death toll of new coronary pneumonia in the United States and Europe exceeded 1 million and 2 million respectively, which US President Biden and the World Health Organization called "tragic" and "devastating" milestones.

When the global COVID-19 situation is still severe, China must continue to adhere to the general policy of "dynamic clearing", maximize the protection of people's lives and health, and ensure the sustainable, healthy and stable development of the economy and society with good prevention and control results.

　　China cannot choose to "lie down" like the United States in its fight against the epidemic. This is determined by the basic political systems of China and the United States.

As a capitalist country, the United States must safeguard the interests of the ruling class.

Although it claims that "everyone is equal" and "human rights come first", it actually "sees human life as a must-have" and "sees life as a child's play".

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 1 million on May 11, according to a Reuters tally, meaning one in every 327 Americans died and the total death toll exceeds the urban population of San Francisco or Seattle.

On the same day, Biden ordered the White House to fly the flag at half-staff to commemorate this "brutal milestone."

　　However, the American people are very dissatisfied with the Biden administration's frequent use of flags at half-mast to commemorate the dead in response to the epidemic.

Some American netizens said that if flying the flag at half-staff can reduce the number of deaths, what should the government do?

The White House's disregard for American life can be seen in the words of former President Trump.

A reporter asked what he thought of the many lower-class Americans who were infected and could not be treated. Trump shrugged and said, "That's life." The implication is that the US government can't manage that much, and has no intention of overdoing it.

American economist Paul Krugman's book "What Happened to America: The Conscience of a Liberal", opponents of the U.S. government's guarantee of health care for the people say that life may be unfair, but eliminating injustice in the world Not a government thing.

Applied to the response to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the thinking of many Americans is that this is not the responsibility of the government of this capitalist country at all.

　　As a socialist country, China always puts people's safety and health first.

Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the Chinese government has adhered to the principle of putting people first and life first, insisting on preventing imports from abroad, preventing rebound from within, and insisting on "dynamic clearing".

According to estimates by the World Health Organization, by the end of 2021, the cumulative number of deaths from new coronary pneumonia in the world will be about 15 million, while the infection rate and death rate of new coronary pneumonia in China remain at the lowest level in the world, and the epidemic prevention and control has achieved remarkable results.

　　The authoritative medical journal "The Lancet" published an article in March that during the epidemic of new coronary pneumonia, the global excess death rate was estimated to reach 18.2 million, and the excess death rate was 120.3 per 100,000 people; the excess death rate in the United States was 179.3 per 100,000 people; The excess mortality rate in China is only 0.6 per 100,000 people.

Since March, China has withstood the most severe test of prevention and control since the defense of Wuhan, and achieved phased results. At present, Shanghai and Beijing are engaged in a more stalemate battle against the epidemic.

　　Adhering to the general policy of "dynamic clearing" is determined by China's basic national conditions. It is an inevitable requirement of the Communist Party of China's insistence on putting people's safety and health first, and it is also a powerful manifestation of respecting science and laws.

At present, the global epidemic is still at a high level, and the virus is still mutating. There is still great uncertainty in the final direction of the epidemic. It is far from the time to breathe a sigh of relief and rest.

　　Relevant studies have shown that the average case fatality rate of the Omicron variant is 7 to 8 times that of the common influenza, and the case fatality rate of the elderly over 80 years old is more than 10%, which is nearly 100 times that of the common influenza.

Moreover, all the populations are susceptible to the Ormicron variant. Without any protective measures, an infected person can infect 9.5 people on average.

　　After the United States chose the "lying flat" epidemic prevention strategy of "coexisting with the virus", not only did more than 1 million American people pay the price with their lives, and 200,000 children became "new crown orphans", and the death cases of the elderly over 65 accounted for the total deaths of the new crown With more than 75% of cases, minorities are one to twice as likely to die from COVID-19 as whites.

This has led to the fragmentation of countless families and human tragedies.

　　China is a country with a large population, with a large aging population, unbalanced regional development, and insufficient medical resources. Relaxing prevention and control will inevitably lead to large-scale infections, serious illnesses and deaths. Economic and social development and people's safety and health will be seriously affected. influences.

Therefore, China must not allow the virus epidemic to lead to a large-scale rebound of the epidemic, resulting in a run on medical resources and a serious threat to the health and life safety of the elderly.

　　The recent epidemic prevention and control practice in Shanghai has proved that the Chinese government's prevention and control policies can stand the test of history, and the prevention and control measures are scientific and effective. Control the epidemic in the shortest possible time, and ensure the sustainable, healthy and stable development of the economy and society with good epidemic prevention and control results.

As the normalized epidemic prevention and control enters a protracted stage, China must adhere to the general policy of "dynamic clearing" without hesitation, and according to the new characteristics of virus mutation and spread, efficiently coordinate epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, and protect the people to the greatest extent. Life safety and physical health, minimize the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development, and believe that the ultimate victory will belong to the Chinese people.

　　Zhang Zhixin Associate Researcher, Ph.D., Institute of American Studies, China Institute of Contemporary International Relations