President Xi Jinping on Monday said China faced a "new Covid situation," as he urged healthcare officials to take targeted measures to deal with the sudden surge in infections, the first time that he has spoken about the grim healthcare situation in the country. In his fresh directive, Xi said that more targeted patriotic health campaigns should be conducted as the country's COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control faces new situations and new tasks. As China continues to reel under a wave of Omicron variants, Xi demanded more efforts in guiding the public to acquire health knowledge and skills, maintain good personal hygiene and form a healthy lifestyle to build a defence line against the epidemic for the whole society, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Monday. This is the first time that the Chinese president has commented on the grim Covid situation in the country after his government overnight relaxed the stringent zero-covid policy earlier this month following mass anti-government protests. Since then, cases stated to be variants of the Omicron have fuelled a spurt in infections across the country. Premier Li Keqiang has called on governments at all levels to redouble their efforts, effectively ensure people's access to medical services, anti-epidemic supplies, and safeguard people's lives and health. Amid reports of crematoriums working overtime and packed ICUs across several cities, the Chinese government reported only seven deaths, all in the capital city of Beijing.
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