Emily
Editor, Senior Moderator
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2462735/shanghai-shuts-schools-as-covid-surges
Three waves
Shanghai shuts schools as Covid surges
Top epidemiologist predicts three infection waves between now and March
published : 17 Dec 2022 at 16:43
writer: Bloomberg News and Reuters
...
The country is on track to experience three infection waves from now through mid-March, according to Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In remarks reported by the Beijing Youth Daily, Wu said 10% to 30% of China’s population of 1.4 billion is likely to be infected.
The first wave will mainly hit cities, Wu said. The upcoming Lunar New Year break — often dubbed the world’s biggest temporary migration as workers head home for the holiday, which is akin to Christmas — could then fuel the spread, he is quoted as saying, with the third wave to start in late February, when people return to factories and other workplaces across the country.
As of Dec 5, the proportion of seriously or critically ill Covid patients had dropped to 0.18% of reported cases, Wu said, from 3.3% last year and 16.5% in 2020.
This shows that China’s fatality rate is gradually falling, he said, without elaborating.
The scale of the current outbreak is already becoming difficult to quantify, with China dismantling its vast PCR testing apparatus and no longer counting asymptomatic cases, which typically took up the bulk of the tally.
There are questions, too, over the official death toll, with reports of many Covid fatalities coming out of Beijing funeral parlors and crematoriums. Still, China has not recorded a Covid death since Dec 4 and the toll for the entire pandemic still stood at 5,235 as of Saturday.
Three waves
Shanghai shuts schools as Covid surges
Top epidemiologist predicts three infection waves between now and March
published : 17 Dec 2022 at 16:43
writer: Bloomberg News and Reuters
...
The country is on track to experience three infection waves from now through mid-March, according to Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In remarks reported by the Beijing Youth Daily, Wu said 10% to 30% of China’s population of 1.4 billion is likely to be infected.
The first wave will mainly hit cities, Wu said. The upcoming Lunar New Year break — often dubbed the world’s biggest temporary migration as workers head home for the holiday, which is akin to Christmas — could then fuel the spread, he is quoted as saying, with the third wave to start in late February, when people return to factories and other workplaces across the country.
As of Dec 5, the proportion of seriously or critically ill Covid patients had dropped to 0.18% of reported cases, Wu said, from 3.3% last year and 16.5% in 2020.
This shows that China’s fatality rate is gradually falling, he said, without elaborating.
The scale of the current outbreak is already becoming difficult to quantify, with China dismantling its vast PCR testing apparatus and no longer counting asymptomatic cases, which typically took up the bulk of the tally.
There are questions, too, over the official death toll, with reports of many Covid fatalities coming out of Beijing funeral parlors and crematoriums. Still, China has not recorded a Covid death since Dec 4 and the toll for the entire pandemic still stood at 5,235 as of Saturday.