Is a sore throat a sign of "double positive"? Will there be a large-scale epidemic in the near future? Latest tips →

Today (8th), the State Council’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism held a press conference to introduce the prevention and control work after the new coronavirus epidemic no longer constitutes an "international public health emergency".

Image source: CCTV News

The World Health Organization announced that the COVID-19 outbreak no longer constitutes a "public health emergency of international concern", mainly based on four considerations: the epidemic situation, virus mutation characteristics, population immune barriers, and system response capacity building :

At present, the new coronavirus is still mutating, and the domestic epidemic is generally in a state of local sporadic spread, and the harm of the disease still exists. All localities and departments should continue to implement various measures of "Class B and Class B Management" to facilitate people's production and life while protecting their health.

The main strain of the novel coronavirus in China has become the XBB series variant . The XBB series variant is a recombinant variant of Omicron, which has stronger transmission and immune escape capabilities than the early Omicron variants and is currently the dominant strain in the world.

Judging from the current monitoring data, the pathogenicity of the currently prevalent variants, including XBB, has not changed significantly compared with the early Omicron subclade.

The epidemic situation in some areas may rebound slightly after May 1st

The possibility of a large-scale epidemic is low

Liu Qing, deputy director of the Department of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, introduced: The results of the national fever clinic monitoring showed that the epidemic situation in some areas increased slightly during the "May 1st" period, but the number of severe cases in hospitals in various places did not increase significantly, and the normal diagnosis and treatment order of medical institutions was not affected. Overall, the domestic epidemic is still in a state of local sporadic spread, the medical service order in various places is normal, and there is no large-scale epidemic in the country .

Experts believe that the increased gathering of people and mobility during the May Day holiday objectively increased the chances of virus transmission. It is expected that there may be a slight rebound in the epidemic situation in some parts of the country after the May Day holiday, and the number of places where clustered epidemics occur may increase, but the possibility of a large-scale epidemic is not high, and it will not cause a significant impact on medical treatment and social operations in the short term.

How to deal with recent COVID-19 symptoms?

Wang Guiqiang, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Peking University First Hospital, said: The clinical manifestations of secondary infection with the new coronavirus and infection caused by new variants are similar, but most of the symptoms are milder and mainly confined to the upper respiratory tract. However, the elderly, those who are not vaccinated, and those with underlying diseases are still at high risk of severe illness or even death , and they need to be paid special attention and managed. Viral infections such as the new coronavirus and influenza, as well as bacterial infections, may manifest as symptoms such as sore throat. Therefore, if you have sore throat at present, you need to find out the cause.

Source: CCTV News WeChat Official Account