According to a study by Peking University, around 900 million people in China have been infected with the coronavirus as of January 11th.
The report estimates that 64% of the population has the virus, with Gansu province having the highest infection rate at 91%, followed by Yunnan (84%) and Qinghai (80%).
A top Chinese epidemiologist has warned that cases will increase in rural areas during the Lunar New Year holiday, and the peak of the Covid wave is expected to last two to three months.
China has stopped providing daily Covid statistics and has abandoned its zero-Covid policies. However, hospitals in big cities have become overcrowded with Covid patients as the virus spreads throughout the country.
Many elderly, sick, and disabled people in rural areas are being left behind in terms of Covid treatment.
The Lunar New Year holiday involves the world’s largest annual migration of people, with some two billion trips expected to be made in total. International health experts have predicted at least a million Covid-related deaths in China this year.
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In December Chinese officials said they planned to issue monthly rather than daily updates on the Covid situation in the country.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said China, which stopped reporting Covid fatalities from Tuesday, was heavily under-reporting Covid deaths.
In response, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stressed again at a regular press briefing on Thursday that Beijing has been sharing Covid data in “a timely, open and transparent manner in accordance with the law”, having held technical exchanges with the WHO over the past month.
International health experts have predicted at least a million Covid-related deaths in China this year. Beijing has officially reported just over 5,000 deaths since the pandemic began, one of the lowest death rates in the world.