One of the Chinese epidemiologists, Dr. Zhong Nanshan, predicted in 2020 that Europe will struggle with the pandemic until 2024 – Leszek Ślazyk told PAP. – Back then I thought it was nonsense, but today I can see that we are doing everything to make this forecast come true.
Leszek Ślazyk is the founder of the Contemporary China Research Institute, businessman and author of the book “China according to Leszek Ślazyk”. For over 25 years, he has been in constant contact with the Middle Kingdom, including business contacts. China, he says, is completely different than what experts in the country often say. For example, they are excellent at dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
PAP: A new variant of Omikron is spreading all over the world, especially in Europe and the USA, while only single cases are detected in China. In China, as in Southeast Asia, the epidemic is not on the scale we know from our own backyard.
Leszek Ślazyk: Because it’s a different world. There, basic rules such as wearing masks, disinfecting hands or keeping distance have been strictly followed for a long time. In 2002, when the SARS epidemic broke out, in Poland, in hospitals or in any public place, we had to put on masks, wash our hands, wipe our shoes on special mats and use gloves. And – very importantly – no one discussed what all this was for. SARS was already taken very seriously in China then, as well as in the rest of Asia. Everywhere in means of transport, at airports, railway and bus stations, while passing through special gates, the temperature was measured and the health condition was randomly checked.
- Doctor Cautions: Omikron and Delta May Create a New Coronavirus Super Variant
Similar rules were introduced with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those experiences turned out to be very useful. In Poland, at the beginning of the pandemic, not even all experts were convinced that the masks were effective in preventing infections.
Admittedly, China’s anti-epidemic laws, introduced in 2002, became dead in 2019 with the outbreak of the Sars-cov-2 pandemic in Wuhan. However, they were alive in other Asian countries, in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. The first signals from Wuhan were treated as a warning, the same procedures as in 2002 were quickly implemented everywhere, i.e. wearing masks, hand hygiene, wiping shoes and keeping distance. Again – no one discussed it.
Hardly anyone remembers that we had similar experiences in Poland with the 1963 smallpox epidemic in Wrocław. At that time, there was an order to use masks and universal vaccination against smallpox was introduced throughout the country.
L.Ś .: Well, the city was closed, all residents were quarantined and a very dangerous infectious disease was dealt with. And there was a huge threat to the whole of society.
There was no other way out and all our countrymen understood it then.
L.Ś .: In the fight against the epidemic, since the Middle Ages, no better methods have been invented for infectious diseases, such as quarantine and isolation, hygiene and covering the nose and mouth.
Let’s go back to Asia. We said no one is discussing it there, and adherence to these rules is obvious.
L.Ś .: There were incidents, maybe even a small diversion that took place in South Korea. One of the local religious groups, carrying out missionary activities in Wuhan, China, hid that it was going there, which led to the import of SARS-CoV-2 to South Korea. Another example is Taiwan, which has suspended its strict antivirus policy for some time and experienced a second wave of soaring infections. However, all rules were immediately restored.
How is it in China? Although you have been in the country for two years, you still have contact with the Middle Kingdom.
L.Ś .: Everywhere in public places it is required to wear a mask, a covid passport is absolutely required. Temperature is measured at airports and stations, which has almost disappeared in Poland.
- The first case of Omikron in Poland comes from Lesotho. What is the epidemic situation in this country?
It is measured in hospitals, but not all.
L.Ś .: Does anyone check with us, who is at home in quarantine after obtaining a positive test result and does not go shopping, for example? Let me put it differently: nobody here cares that these people do not have to leave the house. In China, when neighbors found out that he was sick with COVID-19 next door, they organized him shopping so that he would not go outside. Online services and shopping via the Internet also function well.
Nothing has changed in this respect?
L.Śl .: No, nothing. Local authorities at any time are able to carry out mass testing campaigns of large groups of the population, numbering in millions, even in large cities. Activities that cross the routes of transmission of the virus are constantly being carried out, and the network of contacts of an infected person is monitored. Thanks to this, you do not have to close the entire city, but only a district or housing estate, usually for a few days.
How do people endure mentally?
L.Ś .: The Chinese are tired of all this. Much of this is due to uncertainty, many things cannot be fully planned, it is not known what will happen suddenly. At any moment someone in the environment may turn out to be a virus carrier and restrictions will be introduced again. This disrupts the daily life of the Chinese as well as the activities of companies.
The Chinese can stand it because everything is held with a strong hand?
L.Ś .: It is a false belief that everything in China is held with a strong hand. Poles, even more than Scandinavians or Germans, do not understand that certain rules are established so that one can live in peace and order. Southeast Asia is a different and older culture than ours, based on the principles of the Confunion; Let me remind you that Confucius lived 500 years before Christ. There is a strong hierarchical value system in which the state is above the individual. But for Asians it is obvious. It only seems to us that the Chinese, Koreans and Singaporeans suffer from such a system. Harmony is part of Confucian culture, which we call peace and predictability. And they value it more than individualism. They are also more willing to compromise not to experience what they don’t want. Therefore, for example, the obligatory wearing of masks is not a problem for them.
- How does Pfizer protect against Omicrons? Latest research
During my stay in Japan, even before the pandemic started, I asked Japanese why they wear masks in public places, such as the subway. What was my surprise when I heard that they wanted to protect others in this way.
L.Ś .: This is the case in Japan, but also in South Korea and China. If someone feels bad, but well enough that he does not have to stay at home, but sneezes and coughs, then he puts on a mask. Not to protect himself from infection, but to protect others, he wears a mask just in case. It is as obvious to Asians as it is to us that a person needs oxygen, water and food to survive.
We still have discussions about this, and the police have to issue fines to those who do not have a face mask in the supermarket.
LŚ: The worst thing is that we live in times when knowledge loses with opinion, especially in social media. It hurts me a lot. That a virologist with 40 years of experience who recommends quarantine, wearing a face mask, and washing his hands loses to someone who is, for example, an engineer by training, has discovered the power to refute the results of studies by thousands of scientists who have studied a given problem for decades and recommends vitamin C for everything, preferably left-handed. And it has millions of followers.
Virologists also recommend vaccinations, which are neglected or even contested by some people. The Chinese – according to the latest data – vaccinated over 80 percent. population of 1,4 billion people.
L.Ś .: The age-old methods, i.e. quarantine, covering your face and washing your hands, allow you to deal with infections even more effectively than vaccines. They interrupt the transmission of the virus, which is not done by vaccination. Vaccinations primarily protect against a severe course of the disease. American epidemiologists have recently drawn attention to the effectiveness of masks and their advantages over vaccinations. Which, of course, sparked another wave of discussion.
How do the Chinese view the developing pandemic in Europe and the USA, in countries of Western civilization? With horror?
L.Ś: Well-known epidemiologist in China, Dr. Zhong Nanshan, predicted in 2020 that Europe would struggle with a pandemic until 2024. Back then, I thought it was nonsense, but today I can see that we are doing everything to make this forecast come true. fulfilled.
Pandemic changing perceptions of Western civilization?
L.Ś .: In my opinion, we have already lost the mythical value of a better corner of the world. In the eyes of the average Chinese, the West is no longer better, and in no way better.
In China, since the outbreak of the pandemic in Wuhan, there has been a principle of zero tolerance for the virus. Even a single case will implement all procedures, primarily lockdown and testing. Testing is done efficiently, effectively, so after a few days you know what the situation is, if there are no more cases, everything returns to normal, this new “pandemic” standard.
It is similar in New Zealand.
L.Ś .: Yes, the same rules apply as in Asia and there is a small number of infections. It must be admitted, however, that this results in increasing frustration of the residents. Today, it affects almost all people in the world.
Interviewed by Zbigniew Wojtasiński
Do you want to test your COVID-19 immunity after vaccination? Have you been infected and want to check your antibody levels? See the COVID-19 immunity test package, which you will perform at Diagnostics network points.
Also read:
- How Much Does COVID-19 Treatment Cost At Home? Here is my kit
- This is how the coronavirus kills. The doctor tells you what “fails” in the body
- Dr. Fauci: The third dose protects against the Omicron. “The message remains clear”
The content of the medTvoiLokony website is intended to improve, not replace, the contact between the Website User and their doctor. The website is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Before following the specialist knowledge, in particular medical advice, contained on our Website, you must consult a doctor. The Administrator does not bear any consequences resulting from the use of information contained on the Website. Do you need a medical consultation or an e-prescription? Go to halodoctor.pl, where you will get online help – quickly, safely and without leaving your home.