After China optimized and adjusted its anti-epidemic policies at the end of last year, the economic and social order has been restored at an accelerated pace. The international community generally welcomes this and believes that this will be a positive boost to the global economy. However, those countries represented by the United States that clamor for China to "open up" are now starting to cause trouble again. They announced entry restrictions on travelers from China on the grounds that China's domestic epidemic situation "may mutate into new strains."
"Washington Post" article screenshot
"meaningless" - " The Washington Post " recently quoted a number of epidemiology experts as criticizing the US government's decision as "unscientific, unreasonable, and in the wrong direction." Some analysts pointed out that this is another collective political performance by some countries, and they once again want to blame China for the epidemic in order to contain and isolate China.
Scientifically speaking, the currently prevalent strains in China are mainly BA.5.2 and BF.7, which have spread throughout the world before. This means that new strains of the virus can emerge anywhere, so what is the point of restricting the entry of Chinese travelers? WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhof pointed out that there are currently more than 500 substrains Omicron spreading around the world. "The Washington Post" stated that "XBB.1.5, a new descendant of Omicron, is prevalent in New York and the northeastern United States." Health experts from many countries believe that there is no need to impose entry restrictions on Chinese tourists. The relevant regulations of some European and American countries lack scientific basis, ignore the facts of epidemic prevention, and are even more useless in terms of effectiveness.
From a rational point of view, the current pathogenicity and virulence of the Omicron variant have been significantly weakened, and the epidemic situation has undergone new changes. On the basis of continuous improvement in medical treatment, pathogen detection, vaccination and other capabilities, China has proactively optimized epidemic prevention measures according to the situation and circumstances, which is timely and necessary. From a global perspective, countries will go through an adaptation period when adjusting their epidemic prevention policies, and China's "shifting" of epidemic prevention policies is no exception. With most countries around the world relaxing epidemic prevention measures, why do some countries only focus on China? Jeffrey Sharman, an epidemiologist at Columbia University in the United States, believes that this "does not make sense." The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention said it was "unreasonable" to test travelers from China for COVID-19.
People clearly remember that over the past three years, the United States and some other countries have had contradictory and loophole-filled attitudes towards China's epidemic prevention policy, and have always used epidemic prevention as a political card. When China adopted strict epidemic prevention policies and effectively protected the health and safety of its people, some European and American countries made irresponsible remarks and kept clamoring for China to "open up", otherwise there would be no freedom and human rights. After China optimized and adjusted its epidemic prevention policies according to the changes in the epidemic, some Western politicians and media began to claim that China's epidemic "threats" other countries' epidemic prevention, and introduced entry restriction policies that went against facts and science. How hypocritical is this double standard practice!
It seems that according to the political logic of some people in Europe and the United States, no matter whether China "opens up" or "does not open up", nothing is right. They fell out of favor faster than turning over the pages of a book, showing that they were not interested in drinking. Their clumsy political performance is an attempt to create a new round of division and confrontation, which will cause major obstacles for the world to get out of the haze of the epidemic as soon as possible.
Currently, China is in a period of adjusting its epidemic prevention policy. Although it faces some difficulties and challenges, the epidemic situation is generally under control, economies in various regions are recovering rapidly, social vitality is being released, and the dawn is just ahead. In particular, a series of measures taken by China to facilitate the exchange of personnel between China and foreign countries have been welcomed by many countries.
"It's been three years, magical Thailand has been waiting for you for three years!" Tourism bureaus and embassies in China have posted invitations to Chinese tourists on Weibo. This is the mainstream voice of the world. There will be no market for some countries' old political tricks to fight the epidemic, and the world is looking forward to more solidarity and cooperation.
(international critical commentator)
