Xi Jinping Declares 'Decisive Victory' Over COVID-19 After Abruptly Ending Curbs In December

President Xi Jinping-led administration in China declared a “decisive victory” over COVID-19 after abruptly ending curbs in December. 

What Happened: China’s Politburo Standing Committee, in a meeting on Thursday, said, “With continuous efforts to optimize COVID-19 prevention and control measures since November 2022, China’s COVID-19 response has made a smooth transition in a relatively short time.”

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“A major decisive victory in epidemic prevention and control has been achieved,” top Chinese leaders said, adding that Beijing's efforts led to more than 200 million people getting medical treatment, including nearly 800,000 critical cases. 

The leaders also cautioned that although China’s situation has improved drastically, the virus continues to mutate and spread globally.

The Politburo Standing Committee also stressed that Beijing would increase the vaccination rate for the elderly and ramp up medical goods’ supply and production. 

China's claims of the world’s lowest fatality rate due to COVID-19 have been widely criticized and questioned by experts for Beijing’s data. Many experts and organizations, including the World Health Organization, have said China has been underreporting deaths for months. Widespread media reports also showed packed hospital wards and mortuaries. 

China's official data recorded only about 80,000 COVID deaths in hospitals in the two months after dropping its Zero-COVID curbs in December.

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