January 18, 2023, China: According to a study by Peking University, more than 900 million people in China have been infected with the coronavirus. As of January 18, 2023, the report estimated that the virus infected 64% of the country’s population. It ranks Gansu province at the top, where 91% of the people are said to be infected, followed by Yunnan (84%) and Qinghai (80%).
A top Chinese epidemiologist has also alerted that cases will flood in rural China over the lunar new year. Zeng Guang, ex-head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control said that the peak of China’s Covid wave is expected to stay two to three months. Many Chinese are traveling to their homes, many for the first time since the pandemic began, ahead of the lunar new year on 23 January.
Since abandoning zero-Covid, China has stopped providing daily Covid statistics. As the virus has spread through the country, hospitals in big cities have become crowded with Covid patients.
Earlier this month, Mr. Zeng, Speaking at an event, said it was time to focus on the rural areas, in statements reported in the Caixin news outlet. He also added that many sick, elderly, and disabled in the country were already being left behind in the duration of Covid treatment.
China’s central Henan province is the only province to give details of infection rates. Earlier this month, a health official said nearly 90% of the population had Covid virus, with matching rates noticed in urban and rural areas. However, government officers in China said that many provinces and cities have passed the peak of infections.
The Lunar New Year holidays in China, which officially begin on 21 January, involve the world’s largest annual migration of people. Some tens of millions of people have already traveled and two billion trips are expected to be made in total. International health experts have predicted at least one million Covid-related deaths this year in China.
Furthermore, Beijing has officially reported over 5,000 deaths since the pandemic began, one of the world’s lowest death rates.
