China benefiting from controlling COVID-19 with good practices: WHO expert

Chen Xiaomei (L) and Ji Chao, once members of the medical assistance team from Hainan, visit Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Aug. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

GENEVA, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Most of China are enjoying the benefits of having effectively controlled COVID-19, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Monday.

Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, made the remarks while replying to a question over the annual Wuhan Strawberry Music Festival that attracted thousands of revelers as well as global media outlets' attentions earlier this month, after the once hardest-hit Chinese city revived from the epidemic.

Tourists pose for selfie at the Italian Style Area in Hebei District of north China's Tianjin, May 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Noting that China and other countries, which have a very low incidence rate, remain exceptionally vigilant constantly on the lookout for occasional clusters, Ryan said that those countries "react extremely quickly when they see those clusters in order to maintain that level of control."

According to Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 technical lead for the WHO, China and other countries have shown the world that "with a comprehensive approach, seen all the way through, we can really keep it (the epidemic) down."

"What we see in Wuhan and what we see in other parts around the world are a demonstration of how this comprehensive approach works in controlling COVID-19 even without the vaccine," she said.

A citizen enters a supermarket after scans a health tracking QR code in Ruili, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

The approach she advocated includes measures such as detecting cases, providing care for those patients in isolation facilities, isolating those who have mild symptoms or who are asymptomatic, and establishing contact tracing systems.

"It's really important to remain at the ready, because we remain at risk, because the virus is circulating in other parts of the world, in many parts of the world," she added.