A leading scientist in China says the Lunar New Year travel rush starting this past weekend was unlikely to lead to a surge in Covid cases, as most people have already been infected, and that the possibility of a large-scale pandemic rebound is remote.
Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said the mass movement of people might spread the pandemic, boosting infections in some areas, but because 80% of the popular had already been infected, a second wave was unlikely in the next two to three months.
The ongoing wave of the epidemic had been driven mostly by multiple sub-branches of the Omicron strain, he said.
Wu’s statement came as hundreds of millions of Chinese people travelled across the country for holiday reunions that had been suspended under recently eased Covid-19 curbs.
With some 5bn passenger trips expected this week, fears have risen of new outbreaks in rural areas less equipped to manage large numbers of infections, reports Al Jazeera.
But the National Health Commission said China has passed the peak of pandemic patients in fever clinics, emergency rooms and with critical conditions.
Nearly 60 000 people with Covid-19 had died in hospital as of 12 January, according to government data, roughly a month after the country abruptly ended its zero-COVID policy.
However, some experts believe the figure probably vastly undercounts the full effect, as it excludes those who die at home and because many doctors have said they are discouraged from citing Covid-19 as a cause of death.
Al Jazeera article – China says COVID outbreak has infected 80 percent of population (Open Access)
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