of China National Health Commission (NHC) has reported that nearly 60,000 people have died from Covid since the country abandoned its zero Covid policy The beginning of December.

A prominent government scientist now says the possibility of a Covid-19 recovery in China in the next two or three months is unlikely as 80% of people are infected.

Chinese officials fear the increase in travel related to the Lunar New Year celebration could lead to a spike in Covid cases. However, the chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wu Zunyousaid a second Covid wave was unlikely in the short term, Reuters reports.

An official with the National Health Commission said China has passed the peak of Covid patients in fever clinics, emergency rooms and those with critical conditions.

Also read: The relaxation of China’s zero-Covid policy could be music to investors’ ears

China’s passenger traffic has recovered to 63% of 2019 levels since the start of the annual travel season on Jan. 7.

China’s Ministry of Transport has forecast that passenger traffic during the festival season will increase by 99.5% and recover to 70.3% of 2019 levels.

In January, China reopened its borders to international tourists for the first time since the introduction of Covid-19 Restrictions in March 2020.

Mainland China opened sea and land crossings with Hong Kong, ending the quarantine requirement for incoming travelers.

China could see more than 1 million COVID-19 deaths in 2023suggests a report published by the US Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

According to IHME, the Covid-19 virus would peak in early April 2023, taking the death toll in China to 322,000, Reuters quoted the IHME director as saying Christopher Murray as said.

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