China said the worst of its long and arduous fight against COVID-19 was over ahead of what is expected to be its busiest day in years on Friday, raising concerns about a potential resurgence in infections due to massive displacement of people.
Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who oversees China’s response to the virus, said the outbreak was at a “relatively low” level, state media reported late Thursday, after health officials reported the number of COVID-19 patients in clinics, wards emergency care and in critical conditions. conditions have peaked.
But there are widespread doubts about the Chinese version of the outbreak, which has engulfed hospitals and crematoria as Beijing abandoned strict COVID-19 controls and mass testing last month and spread the virus to its 1.4 billion population following protests against COVID policies. .
Some health experts expect more than a million people to die from the disease in China this year, while British medical data firm Airfinity predicts COVID-19 deaths could reach 36,000 a day next week. .
“Recently, the overall pandemic in the country has been at a relatively low level,” Sun said in comments released by the state-run Xinhua news agency.
“The number of critically ill patients in hospitals has steadily declined, although the rescue mission is still difficult.”
Her comments came ahead of what is expected to be China’s busiest travel day since the pandemic hit in late 2019, with millions of citizens traveling to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year holiday officially starting. on Saturday.
President Xi Jinping said this week that he is concerned about the influx of travelers into rural areas with weak medical systems and that protecting the elderly, many of whom are not fully vaccinated, is a top priority.
According to a report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday, China reported a significant spike in COVID-19 hospital admissions in the week to January 15, the highest since the start of the pandemic.
The number of hospitalizations rose by 70% to 63,307 in the previous week, according to the WHO, citing data provided by Beijing.
But at a press conference on Thursday, health officials said the number of COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital had peaked, with 40% fewer people receiving critical care treatment on Jan. 17 compared to a peak on Jan. 5.
China said last Saturday that almost 60,000 people with COVID-19 died in hospitals between December 8 and January 12, about 10 times more than previous reports.
However, this number does not include those who died at home, and some doctors in China have said they are discouraged from listing COVID-19 on death certificates.
While China’s opening proves deadly, investors are hoping it will eventually help revive its $17 trillion economy, betting that has propelled Chinese stocks and its currency to multi-month highs in recent sessions.
“Markets are widely anticipating a surge in pent-up demand following the reopening of the Chinese economy,” analysts at Nomura said in a note.
However, analysts warn that falling household wealth and a surge in youth unemployment, hung over after years of lockdown, could hold back the recovery.
