80 pc of people infected with COVID-19 in country: Chinese health expert

According to CNN, a renowned government scientist claims that COVID-19 has infected almost 80% of China’s population, or approximately eight out of ten people. According to Wu Zunyou, head epidemiologist of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the current “wave of epidemic has already infected about 80% of the people” in the country of 1.4 billion people.

Wu Zunyou’s remark comes amid fears that the Lunar New Year holiday travel surge may spread the virus to the countryside, resulting in a second wave of cases. Wu said on his own social media account that the situation was unlikely because many people in China were already infected with COVID-19.

Wu argued that the likelihood of a large-scale COVID-19 comeback in China is quite remote.

“In the next two to three months, the possibility of a large-scale Covid-19 rebound or a second wave of infections across the country is very small,” CNN reported Wu Zunyou as saying.

Chinese health officials announced on Thursday that visits to clinics for fever and COVID-19 hospitalisations in China had decreased from their peaks in late December and early January, respectively.

According to experts, the number of persons infected with COVID-19 who require critical treatment in hospitals has also surged. According to CNN, about 60,000 individuals infected with COVID-19 perished in Chinese hospitals between December 8 and January 12 after Beijing unexpectedly stopped its “zero-Covid” policy.

The World Health Organization’s executive director for health emergencies, Mike Ryan, stated earlier this month that the data published by China “under-represent the true impact of the disease” in terms of hospital, ICU admissions, and fatalities.

Meanwhile, on the eve of the Lunar New Year, more than 26 million passenger rides were made, according to CNN, quoting Chinese official broadcaster CCTV. According to the news source, over 4.1 million people travelled by rail and 756,000 travelled by air for holiday reunions on the day before the commencement of the Lunar New Year.

According to a CCTV report, China’s road transportation system recorded nearly 20 million passenger trips on the night of the Lunar New Year, a 55.1 percent increase over 2022. As of Friday, China’s transportation infrastructure has handled almost 560 million passenger journeys during the first 15 days of the 40-day Spring Festival travel period.