Covid Outbreak Has Infected 80% Of China's Population, Says Country's Chief Epidemiologist

China's National Health Commission (NHC) has reported that nearly 60,000 people have died of Covid since the country abandoned its zero-Covid policy in early December. 

A prominent government scientist now says that the possibility of a Covid-19 rebound in China over the next two or three months is remote, as 80% of people have been infected. 

Chinese officials worry that the increase in travel related to the Lunar New Year celebration may bring a surge in Covid cases. Still, the chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wu Zunyou, said that a second Covid wave is unlikely in the near term, reports Reuters. 

A National Health Commission official said that China has passed the peak of Covid patients in fever clinics, emergency rooms, and with critical conditions. 

Also Read: Easing Of China's Zero-Covid Policy Could Be Music To The Ears For Investors

China's air passenger volumes have recovered to 63% of 2019 levels since the annual travel season began on Jan. 7.

China's transport ministry has predicted that passenger volumes would jump 99.5% during the festival season, recovering to 70.3% of 2019 levels.

In January, China reopened its borders to international tourists for the first time since it imposed Covid-19 restrictions in March 2020. 

Mainland China opened sea and land crossings with Hong Kong, ending a requirement for incoming travelers to quarantine. 

China could see more than one million COVID-19 deaths in 2023, a report released by the U.S.-based Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) suggests. 

According to the IHME, the Covid-19 virus would peak at the start of April 2023, and deaths in China will soar to 322,000, Reuters quoted IHME Director Christopher Murray as saying. 

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