The Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council held a press conference on May 8, and introduced the situation related to the prevention and control work after the COVID-19 pandemic no longer constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Let’s learn more about it!

Recent Overall Epidemic Situation in China

How will the national epidemic situation be after the May Day holiday? Will there be large-scale local outbreaks?

Recently, according to the national fever outpatient monitoring, there is a slight increase of the epidemic in some areas during the holiday, but the number of hospitalized severe cases in various places shows no significant increase, and regular diagnosis and treatment in medical institutions remains unaffected. In general, the domestic epidemic is still in locally sporadic distribution, and medical services are in normal order throughout the country, with no large-scale outbreaks occurring nationwide.

According to the experts’ study and judgment, due to the decline of population immunity over time after vaccination and infection with COVID-19, in early April this year, the national outbreak reached its lowest level since November 2022, and has recently begun to show a slow upturn. This changing trend is in line with the expectations, and also similar to the pattern of fluctuating outbreaks of the Omicron variants throughout the world.

The decline of the population immunity is gradual, and the overall immune protection level of the population in China remains high. The frequent gatherings and mobility of people during the May Day holiday objectively increases the possibility of virus spreading. According to the prediction, there may be a slight resurgence of local outbreaks after the holiday. Places where outbreaks in clusters occur may increase, but it is unlikely to occur large-scale local outbreaks, and there will not be any obvious impact on the medical treatment and social activities in the short term.

What should the public respond to if they are reinfected with COVID-19?

First, whether the reinfection or the infection caused by new variants, their clinical manifestations are similar so far, mainly shown in the upper respiratory tract. Severe cases remain rare, and the majority of cases are asymptomatic or only show mild symptoms. Don’t panic if you get infected, deal with it in a target manner and do the personal hygiene pieces, like wearing a surgical mask to avoid or reduce the risk of further spread.

Second, pay high attention to the elderly. Those who have not been vaccinated and those with underlying diseases should avoid infection or reduce the risk of infection. Both variants and reinfection put these people at high risk for severe diseases and even death. Hence, we need to focus on the elderly and those with underlying diseases, and take measures to prevent and intervene in advance. At present, medical institutions have relatively adequate capacity to treat severe cases. Therefore, once severe cases occur, send patients to get hospitalization or ICU treatment in a timely manner.

The COVID-19 Pandemic No Longer Constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

On what basis did the World Health Organization (WHO) make this announcement?

This announcement was based on four main considerations: the prevalent trend of the epidemic, the characteristics of virus variants, the herd immune barrier and the systematic construction of response capacity.

First, in terms of current prevalent trend, the epidemic, cases, patients requiring hospitalization and intensive care, and deaths, remain low and continue to decline.

Second, although the coronavirus mutates constantly, and some variants have shown increased ability to evade existing immune protection, the virulence, pathogenicity and fatality rate of the currently prevalent Omicron variant have not shown much change.

Third, although the risk of a global epidemic remains high, the population have established immune barriers by natural infection and voluntary vaccination.

Fourth, over the past three years or so, global countries have strengthened their capacity-building of medical assistance systems and public health systems, including human resources, prevention and control equipment, vaccines and medicines, etc., and the majority of the countries have developed strong prevention and control capacities. Taken together, a relative balance has been struck between the resistance of population and health systems and the new coronavirus.

According to the International Health Regulations, a PHEIC requires to meet three criteria: first, it happens seriously, suddenly and unexpectedly; second, the outbreak can spread across borders; and third, it requires a coordinated international response across the world to address its hazards. Based on a comprehensive assessment, the global outbreak has met the basic requirements of the International Health Regulations on giving the all-clear as a PHEIC.

Does the all-clear as a PHEIC mean the COVID-19 pandemic is over?

The answer is obviously no. It does not mean the hazards of the epidemic is completely gone, nor we can let the epidemic go. To a certain extent, this is to show that we can effectively control the hazards with current ability, but we still have to keep on the effective routine COVID-19 control, to protect the health and safety of the people, and take necessary preventive and control measures to cope with the possible risk of the epidemic.

Will China’s risk level of COVID-19 prevention and control be adjusted?

Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the COVID-19 pandemic no longer constitutes a PHEIC, but it is not yet over. We will always put protecting the people and human life first, with a focus on protecting people and preventing them from severe diseases, carry out our COVID-19 prevention and control work in the new phase in a solid and meticulous manner, and underscore the need to continuously enhance China’s systems of public health, disease prevention and control, and medical services. Meanwhile, we will keep optimizing our prevention and control measures according to the anti-epidemic situation and relevant needs, to contain the large-scale outbreaks, and protect people’s lives and health to the greatest extent, as well as minimize the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development.