China says 80% of population infected with Covid

Beijing:

A leading government scientist said on Saturday that the chances of a major COVID-19 rebound in China in the next two or three months are slim as 80% of people have been infected.

Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the large-scale movement of people during the ongoing Lunar New Year holiday could exacerbate the epidemic, leading to a spike in infections in some areas, but in the near term A second Covid wave is unlikely. said on the Weibo social media platform.

Millions of Chinese are traveling across the country for holiday reunions that were recently suspended under eased COVID restrictions, raising the risk of new outbreaks in rural areas less equipped to manage large outbreaks. Suspicion increased.

An official of the National Health Commission said on Thursday that China has crossed the peak of fever clinics, emergency rooms and the number of Covid patients in critical condition.

Nearly 60,000 people with Covid had died in hospital by January 12, nearly a month after China abruptly ended its zero-Covid policy, according to government data.

But some experts said that figure probably massively underestimates the full effect, because it excludes those who died at home, and because many doctors have said they have COVID as the cause of death. are discouraged from citing.

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