According to model calculations by independent researchers, the massive corona wave in China could start next Friday 3.7 million new infections per day reach their first peak. As reported by London-based data processor Airfinity, the number of Covid deaths in China is predicted to rise to a high of 25,000 a day ten days later.
By then, according to estimates, since the beginning of the wave of contagion in early December more than half a million people in China have died due to Covid-19 being. Airfinity also predicts that the death toll should rise to a total of 1.7 million by the end of April.
China no longer publishes current data. According to a very narrow definition, the authorities only count someone as a corona death who has died of pneumonia or respiratory failure after an infection.
Airfinity says one according to its model calculations another peak of the wave of infections for the beginning of March ahead when probably 4.2 million people a day could become infected. This second wave is likely to hit rural areas more strongly.
For the Chinese New Year on January 22, hundreds of millions of Chinese travel to their home countries or to visit relatives. Experts fear they have the virus from the now affected metropolises to smaller and medium-sized cities and rural areas where medical care is not very good.
Many elderly people live in rural areas in particular and in China they are usually insufficiently vaccinated for fear of side effects. According to state media, 25 million people over the age of 60 are completely unprotected. Of the 240 million Chinese over the age of 60, about 75 percent would have received a boost. However, this figure is only around 40 percent among the elderly over the age of 80.
After three years of lockdowns, mass testing and enforced quarantine, China abruptly abandoned its zero-Covid strategy in early December, citing the disease’s milder course. The measures were no longer able to cope with the explosive spread of omicron. In addition, the second-largest economy increasingly suffered from the restrictions. The massive wave of infections that followed left many hospitals unprepared.
(yam/sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
