China is able to control current local outbreaks in about four weeks under the country's "dynamic zero-COVID" policy, Zhang Wenhong, a Shanghai-based infectious disease specialist and a household name in China, said on Friday.

The "dynamic zero-COVID" policy is China's overall guideline for COVID-19 prevention and control, which refers to a slew of measures to swiftly stamp out new outbreaks when they happen.

It includes proactively discovering the source of the infection such as symptomatic and asymptomatic cases, taking swift measures like mass screening, tracking and quarantining close contacts to stop the virus spreading and giving patients immediate medical treatment to keep them from severe illness or death. 

It is worth noting that the "dynamic zero-COVID" doesn't mean "zero infection" as it is impossible to ensure the populous nation have zero case, according to Liang Wannian, head of the COVID-19 response and disposal expert team at the National Health Commission.

China's top epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said in an interview the cost of such aggressive measures can be rather low compared to the expenditure to contain an out-of-control situation when no actions are taken in preliminary stage of an outbreak.

Read more: Why does China stick to 'dynamic zero-COVID' policy?

In a post on China's Twitter-like Weibo, Zhang said that the policy is the most critical public health strategy at present, and China is proving able to control the current outbreaks in the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the northwestern region under the policy.

"It is just a matter of time for us to beat the virus, there's no need to panic," he wrote.

The expert also mentioned that Chinese scientists reacted quickly to the emergence of the Omicron variant, and were able to come up with strategies in two to three weeks to combat the new variant.

Zhang said the researchers are working on a new COVID-19 treatment that targets the new variant as the current treatment can still be effective.

He also mentioned the study released by a Hong Kong research team saying the transmission rate of Omicron is higher and the booster shots can remarkably reduce the infection.

The world will be expected to embrace life returning to normal as countries will have the upper hand with multiple upgrading COVID-19 treatment against the virus, he said.