What’s new: Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, predicted that China will experience three waves of Covid infections this winter, with the first wave already underway.
Speaking at a conference in Beijing on Saturday, Wu said China is at the peak of the current outbreak, which will last for about three months and come in three waves. He sees the first wave of infections running until mid-January, followed by a second wave from late January to mid-February, triggered by the movement of people ahead of next month’s Lunar New Year holiday, the state-run China News Service reported.
The third wave will last from late February to mid-March, as people return to work after the weeklong holiday, the senior health official said.
At the same conference, Wu estimated about 10% to 30% of China’s 1.4 billion people will contract the virus this winter, domestic media reported.
The background: Covid infections have been surging in China since the country sharply eased virus restrictions earlier this month, putting pressure on the nation’s health care system and prompting many to stock up on antigen kits and drugs.
However, it has become difficult to quantify the size of the current outbreak based on official data, as the country ended mass nucleic acid testing and stopped counting asymptomatic cases, which had consistently accounted for the majority of the tally.
China reported more than 1,900 local symptomatic cases and two deaths Sunday, the first time in two weeks the country has recorded Covid fatalities, according to the National Health Commission.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Bertrand Teo (bertrandteo@caixin.com)
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