China says COVID deaths top 12,600, more than 1 billion people infected
— China said its COVID-related death toll topped more than 12,600 in the week before the Lunar New Year holiday, while a top health official suggested more than 1.1 billion people had been infected since virus controls were abruptly dismantled late last year.
The data comes after China came under fire for dramatically narrowing its definition of a COVID death and halting daily caseload reports. The World Health Organization has urged Beijing to release more detailed information on the country’s COVID situation as the virus spreads rapidly throughout China after the sudden lifting of extensive COVID Zero restrictions.
Separately, the China CDC’s chief epidemiologist, Wu Zunyou, said in a Weibo post at the weekend that 80% of the population have been infected in the current outbreak. China had a population of 1.41 billion at the end of 2022, suggesting more than 1.1 billion people have contracted the virus so far. While travel during the Lunar New Year holiday period, currently under way, may lead to an uptick in cases in some regions, Wu said there is “very little chance” for large-scale infections or a second nationwide outbreak in the next two to three months.
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