Coronavirus: Xi Jinping tells China to stay on guard as country seeks to restart economy
- President’s mask-free appearance during visit to Zhejiang province is seen as an attempt to spread the message that things are getting back to normal
- But concerns about imported and symptomless cases of Covid-19 continue to pose a threat to efforts to reboot the world’s second largest economy
Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned people to remain on guard against the spread of Covid-19 by silent carriers and from overseas as the country tries to get its economy going again.
“[We] must specifically strengthen our work to manage asymptomatic cases and impose suitable precautionary measures on all areas of business recovery and social life,” he told the provincial party committee of Zhejiang, state news agency Xinhua reported.
“[We] must see restricting imported cases as the most important measure for the time being and maybe for a long period … [we] shall have no loopholes.”
Xi’s warning came after some of the most draconian lockdown measures were lifted as part of efforts to get the world’s second largest economy back on track.
The authorities last week lifted traffic controls in most parts of Hubei, the province that was worst hit by the Covid-19 outbreak. The lockdown of Wuhan city, which was the epicentre, will see its traffic restrictions lifted next week.
But the threat from imported cases continues to cast a shadow over these efforts, and last week the authorities banned almost all foreign nationals from entering the country.
