Chaoyang District in Beijing has been classified as a high-risk area for the COVID-19 pandemic as a novel coronavirus cluster occurred there within the last 14 days, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said on Monday at a news conference held by the Beijing municipal government.Photo:Xinhua

In an editorial published on April 18, globally renowned medical journal The Lancet, praised China’s quick containment of COVID-19, calling its efforts impressive that have set an encouraging example for other countries. 

The editorial said positive public health interventions, such as detection of cases, contact tracing, and population behavioral change, have contributed significantly to the containment of the disease. Setting up makeshift hospitals also played a key role in easing the pressure on the country’s health-care system. These temporary hospitals have treated around 12, 000 mild to moderate COVID-19 patients in Wuhan as of March 10, 2020. 

On April 8, China lifted the lockdown on Wuhan after 76 days. Transportation, businesses, and schools are gradually resuming, but with caution. 

The top public health priority for China is to monitor the instantaneous reproduction number (Rt) closely and confirmed case-fatality risk, said the editorial.

Therefore, a scientific lockdown exit strategy is crucial to sustaining the containment of the disease, stated the editorial, adding that China’s experience in combating the virus will be closely watched as other nations are considering or have gradually adopted their own exit strategies. 


Click for more info about The Lancet editorial: Sustaining containment of COVID-19 in China