China Not Worried About Second Deadlier Wave Of Coronavirus

Chinese scientists and health officials involved in the country¡¯s fight against the coronavirus believe the worst is now over and are downplaying warnings that the virus could become a seasonal or the deadlier alert of ¡°second wave¡± which could hit later in the year.

Representative Image -AFP

As the pandemic continues to spread overseas, a growing number of countries are racing to prepare for the worst-case scenarios in which COVID-19 remains in circulation until next year at the earliest.

Health experts in China have expressed absolute confidence that the country¡¯s strict policies and measures have done enough to ensure the outbreak can be brought under control, domestically at least, within weeks.

Though they remain wary of the risks which are implied with ¡°importing¡± cases from overseas, they believe China is capable of dealing with COVID-19 in the same way it eliminated Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003.

Representative Image -AFP

SARS was a disease which was eventually contained after the government imposed stringent screening and quarantine measures.

The World Health Organisation has expressed that the Coronavirus reached an extreme in China around late February. Zhong Nanshan, a senior government advisor who helped detect and defeat SARS in 2003 said that ¡°could be over by June¡± if countries take the required action.

On Wednesday there were no new domestic cases in the disease¡¯s epicentre of Wuhan for the first time since the time the outbreak began. However, the term ¡°imported¡± infections reached a record 34, and have domestic transmission for five consecutive days.

Ian Henderson, director of the Institute for Molecular Bio-science at the University of Queensland, said China¡¯s actions to contain the virus have been ¡°extraordinary¡± but there could be a second outbreak, this time imported.

¡°(What) remains possible is that as controls around isolation are relaxed in China, with a population that is still susceptible, then the virus may re surge if it has not been eradicated elsewhere,¡± he said.