China is in the first of an expected three waves of COVID cases this winter, according to the country's chief epidemiologist. More waves will come as people return en masse to their home areas for the Lunar New Year holiday, he said.
Senior official predicts three waves this winterBEIJING, Dec 18 - Streets in major Chinese cities were eerily quiet on Sunday as people stayed home to protect themselves from a surge in COVID-19 cases that has hit urban centres from north to south.
As part of the easing of the zero-COVID curbs, mass testing for the virus has ended, casting doubt on whether official case numbers can capture the full scale of the outbreak. China reported some 2,097 new symptomatic COVID infections on Dec. 17. Smoke billowed out of crematoriums, where groups of people were gathered to collect the ashes of the deceased. It was not immediately clear to what extent a rise in COVID-related deaths was responsible.
In Guangzhou, those already doing online class as well as pre-schoolers should not prepare for a return to school, said the education bureau. China will celebrate Lunar New Year starting on Jan. 21. The holiday normally sees hundreds of millions of people travelling home to spend time with family. "This period coincides with the Lunar New Year, and population movement will speed up the spread of the epidemic," said Chen Zhong, executive deputy director of the provincial epidemic control taskforce.and over a million people in China could die of COVID in 2023.
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