Covid controls to remain in place: People's Daily
Beijing will continue with its Covid-19 policies to avoid losing control over local coronavirus outbreaks, the People’s Daily said in a commentary for a third straight day. "Lying flat is not to be advised, and to win [the Covid battle] while lying flat is not possible," the paper wrote on Wednesday. China has been grappling with a Covid resurgence after the National Day "Golden Week" this month, traditionally a peak travel season. In recent days, large cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, have tightened preventive measures such as requiring residents to be tested for the virus more frequently. Despite the country's small case load compared with the rest of the world, authorities have urged people to accept the measures. "Only by insisting on dynamically clearing [cases as they arise] could huge losses arising from losing control of the epidemic be avoided by the full extent," People's Daily wrote. China's health authority reported on Wednesday 374 locally transmitted confirmed Covid-19 cases. A total of 1,386 local asymptomatic carriers were also identified, the National Health Commission said. "Once epidemic prevention and control is relaxed, a large number of people will be infected within a short period of time, a large number of severe cases and deaths will occur, resulting in a run on medical resources," the newspaper said. It added the control measures will save lives. "Some countries choose to 'lie down' and adopt the policy of 'coexisting with the virus', not because they do not want to prevent and control the epidemic, but because they are unable to prevent and control the epidemic," People's Daily said. (Xinhua/Reuters)