China's dynamic zero-COVID policy essential to safeguard people's lives, says Cambodian scholar

Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

China's dynamic zero-COVID approach is crucial to protect people's lives and to minimize the pandemic's impact on socioeconomic development, a Cambodian scholar has said.

In an interview with Xinhua, Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, said that since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has always put the people and their lives first and worked hard to prevent both inbound cases and domestic resurgences.

China has been upholding a dynamic zero-COVID policy, the essence of which is early detection and quick response measures to stop the continuous spread of the virus in communities to protect people's health and lives to the greatest extent.

Matthews said through this approach and the constantly adjusted epidemic prevention and control measures in light of new developments, China has achieved major strategic progress against COVID-19.

"I think that as a populous country with a large number of senior citizens, unbalanced development between different regions, and insufficient medical resources, China will definitely see a wide range of infections if China eases up on epidemic prevention and control," Matthews said.

China's dynamic zero-COVID policy "is the best choice and the right decision for the country in order to prevent a huge amount of severe cases and deaths, which could severely threaten social and economic development as well as people's health and safety," he said.

Meanwhile, the scholar also admired China for having helped countries around the world to fight COVID-19.

"China has played a leading role in helping countries across the world to fight COVID-19," he said. "Chinese vaccines have not only protected hundreds of millions of people around the world, but also helped countries revive their economies and reopen their borders with confidence."

"For Cambodia, Chinese vaccines have enabled the country to fully resume its socioeconomic activities and to reopen its borders to vaccinated travelers without quarantine since last November," he said.

With its full reopening, Cambodia's economy is forecast to grow by 5.3 percent in 2022 and up to 6.5 percent in 2023, he said, citing an Asian Development Bank's recent report.