Cases in China ‘peaking’ during New Year rush
China said the worst was over in its battle against Covid-19 ahead of what was expected to be one of the busiest days of travel in years yesterday, a mass movement of people that has fed fears of a further surge in infections.
Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who oversees China’s virus response, said the outbreak was at a “relatively low” level, state media reported late on Thursday, after health officials said the number of Covid patients in clinics, emergency rooms and with critical conditions had peaked.
But there are widespread doubts about China’s account of an outbreak that has overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums since Beijing abandoned strict Covid controls and mass testing last month.
That policy U-turn, which followed historic protests against the government’s “zero-Covid” regime, unleashed the virus on 1.4 billion people who had been largely shielded since it emerged in the city of Wuhan at the end of 2019.
Some health experts expect that more than one million people will die of the disease in China this year, with British-based health data firm Airfinity forecasting Covid fatalities could hit 36,000 a day next week.
“Recently, the overall pandemic in the country is at a relatively low level,” Ms Sun said in comments reported by the state-run Xinhua news agency.
“The number of critical patients at hospitals is decreasing steadily, though the rescue mission is still heavy.”
Her comments came on the eve of what was expected to be one of the busiest days of travel across China since the pandemic erupted in late 2019, as millions of city-dwellers travel to home towns for the Lunar New Year holiday that officially begins today.
A total of 2.1 billion trips are expected to take place across China between Jan 7 and Feb 15, the transport ministry has estimated.
Passengers laden with luggage and boxes of gifts packed on to trains yesterday, heading for long-awaited family reunions.
“Everyone is eager to go home. After
all, we haven’t seen our families for so long,” a 30-year-old surnamed Li said at Beijing’s west railway station.
China’s internet regulator issued a warning this week saying it would censor any “fake information” about the spread of the virus that could cause “gloomy” sentiment during Lunar New Year festivities.