WHO issues new warning to the world: Now is not the time to relax prevention and control measures
[Global Times reporter Li Haotao Aoki Short Room Chen Kang] "The global new crown pneumonia epidemic is far from over, and now is not the time to relax prevention and control measures." In the face of the recent gradual relaxation or even withdrawal of epidemic prevention measures in many countries and regions such as the United States and Europe, WHO issued a new warning to the world again on the 18th.
After a brief period of calm in the epidemic, the number of confirmed cases in the United States and Europe has risen sharply again. Many experts such as Fauci, an American infectious disease expert, have warned that the United States and Europe are facing a new wave of epidemic peaks.
The epidemic in South Korea and other places in Asia is also at the most severe moment.
At the same time, various mutant strains emerge in an endless stream, not only the Omicron BA.2 subtype known as the "stealth strain", but also the "Delta", a mixture of the "two poison kings" of Omicron and Delta. Cron".
The National Health Commission said on the 19th that the global epidemic situation has rebounded again, of which more than 40% are concentrated in my country's neighboring countries and regions, and China's foreign defense import pressure continues to increase.
At the same time, the local epidemic situation in my country is developing rapidly, and the prevention and control situation is severe and complicated.
A new wave of epidemics is coming
A WHO spokesman said on the 18th that the current global new crown pneumonia epidemic is far from over, and "we are definitely still in the middle of the pandemic."
After several weeks of declines, more than 11 million new cases were confirmed globally last week, up 8% from the previous week, the WHO said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pointed to data showing a sharp drop in global testing rates, which means "the confirmed cases we're seeing are just the tip of the iceberg."
There are multiple factors behind the recent surge in confirmed cases around the world, said Van Kerckhofer, technical director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program.
At present, Omicron has found subtypes such as BA.1 and BA.2, of which BA.2 is the most infectious strain so far.
Second, some countries have lifted most, if not all, containment restrictions.
At the same time, the global distribution of Covid-19 vaccines remains extremely uneven, with insufficient vaccine coverage in many places.
The third factor is the proliferation of misinformation about the outbreak.
"There's a lot of confusion caused by misinformation about Omikjon being mildly ill, the end of the pandemic, and so on," Van Kerckhofer said.
"A new wave of the epidemic is coming, are we ready?" The New York Times said that a clear warning that the short period of epidemic calm is about to end has been issued from Western Europe.
The number of confirmed cases in many European countries, including Britain, France, and Germany, is rising rapidly with the emergence of the more contagious Omicron subtype variant BA.2.
According to the epidemic data released by the German CDC on the 18th, the number of newly confirmed cases on that day was 297,845, which is the second consecutive day that Germany has newly confirmed more than 290,000 cases.
As of that day, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the country has exceeded 18 million.
Statistics released by the Office for National Statistics on the 18th showed that about 3.3 million people in the UK tested positive for the virus last week, much higher than the 2.6 million the previous week, and the number of hospitalized cases of all ages in places such as England Increase.
The New York Times said that after a wave of epidemics broke out in Europe in the past two years, a similar wave of epidemics must also occur in the United States in just a few weeks.
The 10 epidemiologists interviewed by the report agreed that many of the factors that led to the resurgence of the epidemic in Europe also exist in the United States, but it is unclear when the next wave of epidemics in the United States will arrive.
"I expect we'll see a wave of outbreaks in the U.S. very soon, possibly as soon as April," said Anderson, a virologist at the Scripps Research Institute in the United States. Given that some cases are bound to develop into Severe illness, a new wave of outbreaks will be accompanied by rising hospitalizations and death rates.
Fauci, an American infectious disease expert, said on the ABC program on the 18th: "I would not be too surprised to see a rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases in the next few weeks." He reminded the public that lax epidemic prevention and The protective power of vaccines fades over time, and the United States may see a new wave of epidemics again, and I am afraid that increased epidemic prevention funds will be required.
Europe's 'difficult compromise'?
Although the number of confirmed cases remains high and rapidly rises again, many countries such as the United States and Europe are relaxing or even canceling prevention and control measures.
"Germany lifts most epidemic prevention restrictions after a difficult compromise", "Voice of Germany" said on the 19th that despite the record high number of infections, the German Bundestag has cancelled the requirement to wear masks in most places, a move subject to opposition parties Strong criticism.
Under the new decree, people are no longer required to wear masks and show test certificates in shops, restaurants and schools, and these epidemic prevention measures only apply to high-risk places such as hospitals and nursing facilities.
In this regard, the opposition CDU said that this shows that the federal government is no longer willing to take responsibility for fighting the epidemic.
German Health Minister Lauterbach argued that the new decree was a "difficult compromise" and that "we cannot continue to block the entire country to protect a small number of people who are unwilling to be vaccinated."
Other European countries have also generally lifted most of the prevention and control measures.
The British government announced that it will lift all entry restrictions from 4 am on the 18th.
The Netherlands will lift the requirement to wear a mask and show nucleic acid test results when taking public transport and entering public places from the 23rd.
France has suspended the "vaccine pass" and no longer requires people to wear masks except on public transport.
With the cancellation of various prevention and control measures, Europeans are planning to travel abroad.
The "Global Times" reporter in Germany entered "Europe" and "epidemic" on Google to search for news on the 20th, but the top recommended news were all related to "where to go on vacation in Europe during the epidemic".
German TV said on the 20th that with the arrival of Easter (April 17), Europeans are planning where to go on vacation.
According to the report, since the prevention and control measures have been basically lifted, it is certain that the epidemic situation in European countries will be more severe after Easter.
What worries experts is that the emergence of various mutant strains has also made the coming wave of the epidemic even more turbulent.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said that the new crown pneumonia epidemic has entered its third year, and the dominant virus strain affecting the global epidemic trend has changed from Delta to Omikron. At present, Omikron is also continuing to mutate. It is the Omicron BA.2 subtype.
The BA.2 subtype is called "stealth strain", its infectivity is 1.4 times that of BA.1, and its infectious index (Ro) is as high as 12 (that is, an average virus-infected person can infect 12 people).
In addition, "Delta Chron", a mixture of the two "Poison Kings", Omicron and Delta, has appeared.
Reuters quoted WHO experts as saying that there have been many cases of "Delta Coron" infection in the United States, Denmark, France and the Netherlands.
Shenzhen achieves social zero
"Despite the strong communication power of Omicron, China still adheres to the policy of dynamic clearing", "Korean National News" said on the 20th that China added two new deaths on the 19th, two people from Jilin Province, both over 65 years old of the elderly have underlying diseases.
It's been more than a year since the last death in China, underscoring the threat posed by Omicron, which has sparked a spike in infections in China since the outbreak began.
According to the report, China still adheres to the "dynamic clearing" policy, which is a powerful containment policy.
Currently, China has implemented partial blockades in Shenzhen, Guangdong, Changchun and Jilin in Jilin province.
These measures appear to be bearing fruit.
The number of newly confirmed local cases in China soared to 3,507 on the 14th and dropped to 1,656 on the 19th.
On the 19th, at the press conference of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council, officials and experts of the National Health and Health Commission said that the global epidemic situation has rebounded again, of which more than 40% are concentrated in my country's neighboring countries and regions, and China's foreign defense import pressure continues to increase. .
At the same time, the local epidemic situation in my country is developing rapidly, and the prevention and control situation is severe and complicated.
On the 20th, the Shenzhen Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters issued a notice saying that the city has basically achieved a dynamic social clearing, and will resume normal work order and production and operation from the 21st.
Since March 14, Shenzhen has conducted three rounds of nucleic acid testing for all employees in the city, and implemented lockdown measures in some areas.
On the 20th, 92 areas in Changchun City, Jilin Province were also adjusted to medium-risk areas.
On the same day, Jilin City, Jilin Province issued an emergency notice, deciding to implement global static management from 00:00 on the 21st, personnel in the closed control area are prohibited from leaving their homes, and personnel in the control area are prohibited from leaving the unit.
Jing Junhai, secretary of the Jilin Provincial Party Committee, stressed the day before that we must grit our teeth and persevere to the end, take decisive and powerful measures quickly, and achieve social zero as quickly as possible.