Since March, more than 25,000 cases of infection have been reported in the local epidemic, affecting 28 provinces across the country. Why has the current outbreak affected so many provinces? Is antigen testing helpful in epidemic prevention and control? On March 17, Zeng Guang, a member of the high-level expert group of the National Health Commission and a former chief scientist of epidemiology at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, answered questions in today's headline live broadcast.
Why has the current outbreak affected so many provinces?
Professor Zeng Guang: The current round of the epidemic occurred under the premise of the global pandemic of the Aumicron variant, and the current round of epidemic is different from the early Wuhan epidemic and more than 80 large and small outbreaks after the Wuhan epidemic was cleared. When the epidemic in Wuhan was a passive epidemic prevention, now we are actively preventing the epidemic, including the mature "joint prevention and control mechanism", "dynamic zero clearance measures", and the response of the people of the whole country to "vaccination", etc. In this case, the Aomi Kerong mutation has infiltrated the mainland and is menacing. More importantly, the spread of the Omikejong mutant strain BA.2 on the mainland this time is stronger, more secretive and slower than the previous BA.1 type, and when we found it, it has been spread for 2-3 generations, which is an important reason for the spread of this epidemic.
How do we prevent the import of the epidemic from abroad next?
Professor Zeng Guang: We have taken very strict measures to prevent foreign imports, such as flight circuit breakers, non-essential non-departures for tourism, and so on. There is a "test field" for external defense input that is doing well, that is, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. For example, the adjustment of epidemic prevention and control policies, closed-loop management, etc., have not affected the Winter Olympics because of epidemic prevention. This shows that our epidemic prevention and control policies and means are constantly improving, and it also provides a good reference for our opening up to the outside world in the future.
Is the implementation of antigen testing in the mainland helpful for epidemic prevention and control?
Professor Zeng Guang: The biggest feature of antigen detection is convenient and fast, and the results are produced in ten minutes, which is suitable for areas without nucleic acid testing conditions, people during the isolation period, people who return to China, and so on. However, there is a difference in the accuracy of antigen detection and nucleic acid detection (false positive rate is higher than nucleic acid detection), if the antigen test is positive, nucleic acid detection is used to review. Nucleic acid testing is still the gold standard, but antigen detection is faster and more convenient. Antigen detection and nucleic acid detection complement each other and complement each other.
What are the highlights of the release of the latest version of the COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment plan?
Professor Zeng Guang: The latest version of the diagnosis and treatment plan makes me pay the most attention to the "graded diagnosis and treatment", mild cases are no longer sent to the hospital, can be concentrated observation, can greatly release medical resources, the rational use of medical resources. In addition, for our personal epidemic prevention, in addition to the "old three", wearing masks, washing hands frequently, and gathering less, we must also open windows and ventilate frequently. In addition, in areas where the epidemic is more serious, in addition to wearing masks, it is also necessary to rinse your mouth frequently.
For the upcoming Qingming holiday, will there be any changes in the mobility policy between the two places?
Professor Zeng Guang: First of all, we must look at the current epidemic situation, if the current epidemic situation is in an upward stage, the flow of the two places will be affected. Especially for the movement of two places without an epidemic, I recommend letting go, but it is still prudent to have an epidemic in one place or an epidemic in both places. At the same time, for areas where the epidemic has occurred, I suggest that the scope should be narrowed down and more accurate epidemic prevention and control should be carried out. (Lu Yang)
