A fast-growing COVID-19 pandemic in China has researchers projecting a spike in virus-related mortality in 2019. Several analyses predict more than 1 million fatalities in a nation that has managed chiefly to contain the coronavirus up until this point.
China’s COVID-19 Cases Surge
Following a surge of demonstrations in towns and cities where locals had grown weary of years of harsh lockdowns, mass testing, and centralized quarantines, China substantially eased its rigorous zero-Covid policy earlier this month. The protests represented the largest display of popular discontent in China in years.
However, a large portion of China’s 1.4 billion people is still at risk of contracting the virus due to low vaccination rates, low investment in emergency treatment, and limited exposure. Now, the capital city of Beijing’s funeral homes and crematoriums are having trouble keeping up with demand.
The second wave would then be caused by widespread travel in January around the week-long Lunar New Year celebrations, which begin on January 21.
Epidemiologist Wu Zunyou has stated that he thinks the present surge in infections will last until mid-January. To spend the holiday with their families, millions of people typically travel during this time.
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Experts: China’s COVID-Death Toll To Reach Million in 2023
As individuals return to work after the break, there will be a third spike in cases from late February to mid-March, according to Dr. Wu. He stated at a briefing on Saturday that the existing vaccination rates provided some protection from the surges and had led to a decrease in the number of serious cases.
Overall, according to China, more than 90% of its citizens have received all recommended vaccinations. But fewer than 50% of adults 80 and older have had all three doses of the vaccination. People who are older are more likely to get severe COVID-19 symptoms.
China has created and produced its own vaccinations, which have been proven to be less efficient than the mRNA vaccines used in the majority of the rest of the world at preventing serious COVID-19 sickness and death.
Dr. Wu’s remarks follow earlier this week’s news that a prominent US-based research organization predicted that China could have over a million COVID-19 fatalities in 2023 due to an increase in instances.
Since the limitations were eased on December 7 as a result of significant public outcry over the government’s zero-Covid policy, there have been no official reports of COVID-19 deaths. Mass testing was stopped as part of that. However, anecdotal accounts have linked deaths in Beijing to the appearance of COVID-19.
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