There is a possibility of a re-occurrence of the Covid-19 epidemic in China in January, as informed by the Chinese health authorities reported in China-based Global Times.Though the number of patients received at fever clinics in medical institutions in China has witnessed a decline since New Year’s Day.
During a press briefing, Mi Feng, the spokesperson for the National Health Commission, highlighted a fluctuating downward trend in the number of patients visiting fever clinics across health institutions in China. Currently, influenza is the predominant respiratory disease, and the incidence of Covid-19 remains relatively low.
Recent data indicates that post the New Year’s Day holiday, the positive rate of Covid-19 virus testing in sentinel hospitals has consistently stayed below one percent. Wang Dayan, the director of the China National Influenza Center at the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention – China CDC), noted an increasing proportion of the JN.1 variant strain.
Experts anticipate the ongoing prevalence of various respiratory pathogens this winter and into the upcoming spring, with influenza viruses maintaining dominance in the short term, as reported by The Global Times.
Wang Dayan warned that due to the continuous importation of the JN.1 variant strain, a gradual reduction in domestic influenza cases, and a decline in population immunity, there is a possibility of a Covid-19 epidemic resurgence in January. The JN.1 variant is highly likely to become the dominant strain in China.
Total world wide death from Covid-19 since January 2020 has been 69.69 lakhs out of which around 5200 is from China. However actual data of death and infection of many countries is never confirmed specially of China.