Pedestrians in Pudong’s Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai, China, on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The potential for an enormous Covid-19 rebound in China over the following two or three months is distant as 80% of individuals have been infected, a distinguished government scientist said on Saturday.
The mass movement of individuals throughout the ongoing Lunar Latest Yr holiday period may spread the pandemic, boosting infections in some areas, but a second Covid wave is unlikely within the near term, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist on the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said on the Weibo social media platform.
A whole bunch of thousands and thousands of Chinese are traveling across the country for holiday reunions that had been suspended under recently eased Covid curbs, raising fears of fresh outbreaks in rural areas less equipped to administer large outbreaks.
China has passed the height of Covid patients in fever clinics, emergency rooms and with critical conditions, a National Health Commission official said on Thursday.
Nearly 60,000 individuals with Covid had died in hospital as of Jan. 12, roughly a month after China abruptly dismantled its zero-Covid policy, in keeping with government data.
But some experts said that figure probably vastly undercounts the total impact, because it excludes those that die at home, and since many doctors have said they’re discouraged from citing Covid as a reason behind death.