BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s state media on Tuesday downplayed the severity of its spread of COVID-19 cases ahead of an expected briefing later in the day by its scientists to the World Health Organization, which is hoping for detailed data on the evolution of the virus.
China’s abrupt shift in COVID controls on December 7, combined with the accuracy of its case and death data, has come under increasing scrutiny at home and abroad and prompted some countries to impose travel restrictions.
The policy shift followed protests against Xi Jinping’s “zero COVID” approach, marking the strongest display of public defiance in his decade-long presidency and coinciding with China’s slowest growth in nearly half a century.
With the virus spreading unchecked, funeral parlors have reported a surge in demand for their services, and international health experts expect at least 1 million deaths in the world’s most populous country this year.
China reported three new deaths from the coronavirus on Monday, bringing the official death toll since the pandemic began to 5,253.
On Tuesday, the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, quoted Chinese experts as saying that the illness caused by the virus was relatively mild for most people.
“Serious and critical illnesses account for 3% to 4% of infected patients who are currently admitted to certain hospitals in Beijing,” Tong Zhaohui, deputy chief of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, told the newspaper.
In the past three weeks, a total of 46 patients were admitted to intensive care units, or about 1% of symptomatic infections, said Kang Yan, chief of Sichuan University’s West China Tianfu Hospital.
A Reuters witness said the emergency area of Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai was packed with patients on Tuesday, most of them elderly. Some were in beds in the corridor, covered with blankets and receiving intravenous medication, while dozens stood in lines around them, waiting to be seen by a doctor. It is not clear how many people have been infected with the Corona virus.
Connect with the world
The World Health Organization has urged Chinese health officials to regularly share specific, real-time information about the COVID situation.
The World Health Organization called on Chinese scientists to provide detailed viral sequence data at a meeting on Tuesday of a technical advisory group. It also asked China to share data on hospital admissions, deaths and vaccinations.
“Scientists around the world believe it is very beneficial for all countries to be involved in testing and sequencing variants, and to share their data globally transparently and immediately,” said Alexandra Martiniuk, an epidemiologist at the University of Sydney.
In this regard, the meeting of the World Health Organization on January 3rd may be important.
The United States, France and other countries will require COVID tests on travelers from China, while Belgium said it will test sewage from planes for new types of COVID.
European Union health officials will meet on Wednesday on a coordinated response.
China has rejected criticism of its COVID data and said any new mutations may be more contagious but less harmful.
State broadcaster CCTV commented: “According to the political logic of some people in Europe and the United States, whether China opens or not opens is also the wrong thing to do.”
A 25-year-old Shanghai resident, who only gave her last name Ruan, said she supports China sharing its COVID data and working with the world to fight the disease.
“You always have to communicate with the world. It is better to study it together and prepare for the future,” said Ruan.
Serious weeks
As Chinese workers and shoppers fall ill, concerns grow about the near-term growth prospects in the world’s second-largest economy, causing global financial markets to turn volatile.
Data on Tuesday showed that Chinese factory activity contracted at a sharper pace in December.
December shipments from Foxconn (2317.TW) The Zhengzhou iPhone factory, which has been disrupted by worker departures and unrest amid the COVID outbreak, accounted for 90% of the company’s initial plans.
The head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, said a “wildfire” of infections in China in the coming months is likely to hurt its economy this year and push down global growth.
“China is entering the most dangerous weeks of the epidemic,” Capital Economics analysts warn.
They added that mobility data indicates that economic activity has slowed nationwide and is likely to remain so until infections subside.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said that the domestic tourism market saw 52.71 million trips during the New Year holidays, just 43% of the 2019 level, before the outbreak of the pandemic.
The revenue generated exceeded 26.52 billion yuan ($3.84 billion), up 4% year-on-year, but only about 35% of 2019’s revenue, the ministry said.
Expectations are rising for China’s biggest holiday, the Lunar New Year, later this month, when some experts predict infections will peak in many places.
Media reported that some hotels in the tourist resort of Sanya are fully booked for this period.
Reporting by the Beijing and Shanghai offices; Additional reporting by Farah Master in Hong Kong; Written by Marius Zaharia. Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Robert Bircell
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