[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed that "the safety and health of the people's lives must be firmly guaranteed" amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in China.
According to China Central Television (CCTV) on the 26th, President Xi emphasized on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Patriotic Health Campaign that "a more optimized Patriotic Health Campaign must be carried out" and stated, "Currently, our country's COVID-19 prevention and control face new circumstances and new tasks."
He further instructed, "The Patriotic Health Campaign should be carried out in a more tailored manner, encouraging many people to proactively acquire health knowledge and develop good personal hygiene habits, thereby establishing a regional defense line for epidemic prevention and control to firmly guarantee the safety and health of the people's lives."
This is the first time President Xi has publicly spoken about the situation since China suddenly eased its quarantine measures on the 7th, causing chaos across the country.
China had maintained a 'zero COVID' policy for nearly three years, keeping the number of infections at zero, but after the 'blank protest,' it suddenly relaxed quarantine measures and shifted to a 'with COVID' approach. Since then, there has been a medical crisis due to shortages of medicines and a surge in patients, with a rapid increase in deaths presumed to be caused by infections.
With authorities having abandoned counting confirmed cases, research results suggest that COVID-19 related deaths in China could reach 1 to 2 million within the next few months.
Additionally, Taiwan's Central News Agency and Bloomberg reported on the 22nd, citing a leaked meeting document from China's National Health Commission (NHC), that "from the 1st to the 20th of this month, 248 million people were infected, accounting for 17.56% of China's total population."
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