After the Chinese leadership abruptly reversed its strict zero-Covid policy, the number of infections in China exploded. According to estimates from the government’s top health authority, nearly 37 million people could be infected with Covid-19 on December 20 alone, as “Bloomberg” reports.
That would mark not only a dramatic departure from the official tally of just 3,049 infections reported in China that day, but also a global record in the pandemic. The previous all-time record of 4 million infections in one day occurred on January 19, 2022 amid a first wave of omicron infections in South Africa, according to Bloomberg.
How the Chinese health authority got the numbers is unclear, as the country shut down its once ubiquitous network of PCR test booths earlier this month.
More than 18 percent of the population is probably infected
Despite the high number of infections, authorities are sticking to lifting the restrictions. Lockdowns have ended and the strict obligation to test, enforced quarantine or isolation has largely been eased. But China is ill-prepared for the ensuing corona wave: its underfunded hospitals lack the capacity to admit a large number of patients. In addition, millions of elderly people are still not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Up to 248 million people are believed to have contracted the virus in the first 20 days of December, representing 18 percent of the population. This comes from the minutes of an internal meeting of China’s National Health Commission on Wednesday, confirmed by people involved in the talks.
But that may not be the highlight yet. Chen Qin, chief economist at data consultancy Metro Data Tech, predicts it in most cities in China between mid-December and the end of January. (Hey)