Faced with the pressure of imported cases of COVID-19 and spreading domestic outbreaks, China should stick to its dynamic zero-COVID policy, a leading health expert said on Feb 22.

Liang Wannian, head of the National Health Commission's COVID-19 task force, said the pandemic is still raging around the world and the situation in neighboring countries and regions is worsening, so China faces continued pressure to cope with imported cases.

On the other hand, domestic outbreaks and cluster infections are happening more frequently, which calls for the continued implementation of the country's dynamic zero-COVID policy, he said at a news conference.

Compared with the Delta variant, Omicron produces a lower death rate and number of critical cases, but is more transmissible and can infect larger numbers of people, which means the sheer numbers of deaths and critical patients will also be greater, he said.

The large number of asymptomatic and mild cases this time is the result of the new variant being milder, the high vaccination rate and effective epidemic containment measures, Liang said.

Moreover, China is capable of implementing its dynamic zero-COVID policy due to effective control measures, high vaccination rate, rapid nucleic acid test capability and the understanding and support of its population, he added.