China's people-centered approach proves instrumental against COVID-19

Editor's note: The following article is taken from the Chinese-language opinion column "The Real Point."

All the COVID-19 patients in hospitals in Wuhan, the Chinese city hit hardest by the pandemic, have recovered. No confirmed cases have been reported for weeks. It is a milestone for the city that once witnessed some 13,000 new cases in one day.

People have been asking how China managed to contain the virus in such a short period of time. The answer is its people-centered approach. People's health and well-being are prioritized. The whole country has been mobilized to treat patients and contain the spread of the virus.

Wuhan, a central Chinese city with a population of 11 million, went into lockdown on January 23. A research paper on the Science magazine compiled by experts from top universities and institutions, including Oxford and Harvard universities, concluded that "the national emergency response appears to have delayed the growth and limited the size of the COVID-19 epidemic in China, averting hundreds of thousands of cases."

Two fully-equipped field hospitals were built in just days. Public facilities such as sports stadiums were turned into temporary hospitals to treat patients with mild symptoms. Over 40,000 medical personnel were dispatched to the city from across the country, including intensive care specialists, accounting for 10 percent of the national total. Stringent measures were adopted across the country, aimed at identifying cases, tracing close contacts, implementing social distancing as well as enforcing stay-at-home orders.

With all these efforts, Wuhan had cleared out all severe cases by April 24. Seventy percent of the 2,500 or so patients aged over 80 have recovered, with the oldest being 108 years old. Saving lives is the utmost priority, regardless of the patient's age or social status.

Dr. Bruce Aylward, senior advisor at the World Health Organization, said after a nine-day tour to China that "this approach of all-of-government and all-of-society" has "probably prevented at least tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of cases." Professor Zheng Yongnian from the National University of Singapore pointed out that it is the absolute priority of the Chinese government to protect the lives and health of the people. Ivona Ladjevac from the Institute of International Politics and Economics in Belgrade, Serbia, said that "timely, wise and deeply thought-out life-saving decisions have proven effective in dealing with every aspect of this health crisis."

At the same time, people's livelihoods were not compromised amid the pandemic. A number of measures were taken to ensure the delivery of daily necessities, stabilize commodity prices, assist low-income households and reopen the economy in a delicate manner.

The people-centered approach also means involvement of the general public in this "people's war" against the virus. Chinese President Xi Jinping has praised the people as the true heroes, the source of strength and confidence. Everyone in China has been battling the virus, either in hospitals or communities, by way of contribution and even sacrifice.

China's people-centered approach – prioritizing people's interests and relying on their involvement – is guiding the country through this pandemic toward victory.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at [email protected].)