(Dan Tri) – Leading Chinese epidemiologist Chung Nam Son said that the `Zero Covid` strategy is less expensive than the strategy of living with the epidemic and imposing restrictions every time an outbreak occurs.

Leading Chinese epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan believes that China will continue to pursue the Zero Covid strategy for a long time (Photo: Weibo).

In an interview with CGTN news agency on November 1, leading Chinese epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said that China has no choice but to aim for zero Covid-19 cases because of the SARS-CoV- virus.

`Some countries decided to fully open up even though there were still cases. This led to a sharp increase in the number of infections in the past two months and they were forced to decide to re-impose restrictive measures. This strategy is practical.`

China is still one of the countries applying the most drastic Covid-19 response measures while countries such as the UK and South Korea decided to relax restrictions on travel and meetings while encouraging people to

Although the number of Covid-19 cases tends to increase again in these countries, widespread vaccine coverage has helped limit the rate of severe patients or deaths, thereby reducing the burden on the health system.

Mr. Chung Nam Son said that China will continue to pursue the Zero Covid strategy for a long time, but the specific time depends on how other countries control the epidemic.

`No matter how well China does, once it opens and there are imported cases, there will definitely be domestic infections. Therefore, I believe that the immediate `Zero Covid` strategy is not too costly and practical.

Last month, this expert said that epidemic prevention measures are necessary because China’s Covid-19 vaccination rate has not exceeded 80% of the population.

As of the end of October, China had fully vaccinated more than 1 billion people, equivalent to 76% of the population.

In recent weeks, China has detected Covid-19 cases in 16 provinces and regions, mainly related to domestic travel.

The Zero Covid strategy is still controversial.