A study conducted by Peking University has revealed that around 900 million people in China have been infected with the Coronavirus as of 11 January.
As per the report, 64% of the country’s population is estimated to have contracted the virus.
Top three provinces with higher infection rate are Gansu province- with 91% of the people reported to be infected, followed by Yunnan (84%) and Qinghai (80%).
A leading Chinese epidemiologist has also issued a warning that cases will rise over the lunar new year in rural China.
Zeng Guang, ex-head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control has said that the peak of China’s Covid wave is expected to continue for two to three months.
Hundreds of millions of Chinese are travelling to their hometowns – many for the first time since the pandemic began – ahead of the lunar New Year on 23rd January.
China has stopped providing daily Covid statistics since abandoning zero-Covid.
However, as the virus has spread throughout the nation, hospitals in large cities — where healthcare services are better and more accessible — have become overrun by Covid patients.
The Caixin news agency quoted Mr. Zeng as saying earlier this month that it was “time to focus on the rural areas” while speaking at an event.
He continued that many rural old, ill, and disabled people were already being left behind in terms of receiving Covid treatment.
The only province in China to provide information on infection rates is Henan, in the center of the country. Earlier this month, a health official there reported that over 90% of the population there had Covid, with similar proportions in urban and rural areas.
However, according to government officials, the peak of infections has passed in many provinces and towns.
The world’s largest yearly migration of people occurs during the Lunar New Year celebrations in China, which begin on January 21.
Tens of millions of passengers have already traveled, and almost two billion trips are anticipated overall.
Chinese believe Covid would be forgotten after the lunar new year.
Chinese teenagers self-infect, and Covid worries about the elderly
China quickly changed its zero Covid policies this month. On Sunday, it also reopened its borders.
In contrast to the lengthy lines at funeral houses and stories of deaths on social media, official data from the past month reveals five or fewer deaths every day.
Chinese officials announced their intention to publish monthly rather than daily updates on the country’s COVID situation in December.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), China, which stopped reporting Covid fatalities as of Tuesday, significantly underestimated the number of Covid fatalities.
Wang Wenbin, the spokesperson for the foreign ministry, responded by emphasizing once more that Beijing has been sharing Covid data in “a timely, open and transparent manner in compliance with the law” after having technical discussions with the WHO during the previous month.
At least a million deaths in China from COVID are expected this year, according to international health experts. With one of the lowest fatality rates worldwide, Beijing has officially reported just over 5,000 deaths since the pandemic started.
