By Alex Wu
February 6, 2023Updated: February 6, 2023
A man stands in front of a cordoned-off area, where COVID-19 patients lie on hospital beds in the lobby of the Chongqing No. 5 People's Hospital in China's southwestern city of Chongqing on Dec. 23, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images)
China has experienced a
massive COVID surge across the country since last December,
with infections rates estimated at more than 80 percent. Experts have
predicted that another wave of infections is coming.
The Chinese communist
regime’s State Council stated during a Jan. 30 press conference that the
overall COVID situation in the country has entered a low epidemic level and
that various places have maintained a steady decline in cases.
However, the regime’s
lack of transparency has cast doubt over the COVID-19 information it has
released.
According to mainland
Chinese media, the more infectious Omicron variants of the virus have been
detected in China, such as CH.1.1, XBB.1.5, BQ.1.1, BQ.1, and XBB.
China’s top virologist
and director of China’s Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, Zhang Wenhong,
predicted that the peak of the next wave of COVID infections in China will be
in May and June this year. He estimated that the infection rate of the next
wave will be about 25 to 50 percent, and that symptoms may be less severe
compared with the current wave.
Xing Mingyou, a medical
expert at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, also
predicted to mainland media “Yangtze River Daily” that the peak of the next
wave of infections may come between March and May, and that the number of
infections and disease severity will be weaker than the previous one.
2 Groups Considered at High Risk
Lu Mengji, a
Chinese-German virologist, told China News Weekly on Feb. 1 that it is expected
that from late March onwards, as the population’s immunity declines, the risk
of infection will increase. He also predicted another COVID-19 wave in May and
June.
Lu said that many elderly people who have been infected
now, and people with poor physical fitness may experience more severe symptoms
if they are infected again.
Dr. Liu, a professor at a
traditional Chinese medicine college in Canada and director of the Kangmei
Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic, told The Epoch Times on Jan. 31 that the
COVID epidemic in China is complicated.
“The Chinese regime
saying that the epidemic has reached a ‘low epidemic level’ is a bit too
optimistic and too early. The risk of the large number of people traveling
cannot be taken lightly, and rural areas may face greater risks. High mortality
rates may be more likely to occur among the elderly.”
COVID-19 vaccination
rates among the elderly in China are extremely low.
The Epoch Times obtained
an internal document issued by Hezhou City government of Guangxi Province on
Jan. 19 that shows the elderly population in the city do not want to be
vaccinated.
Many people in China have
been worried that Chinese-made vaccines may have undesired side effects, and
haven’t encouraged their elderly to get vaccinated.
Dr. Liu said that the
COVID infections in mainland China are mainly caused by the BA.5 variant of the
Omicron, XBB1.5, which has been spreading all over the world, and CH.1.1, which
is more concerning.
“Some people call it
‘Orthrus’, the two-headed dog in Greek mythology, because of its super immune
escape ability and highly transmissible. Vaccination and booster shots are
useless. The next wave of infections may surge in the mainland soon, and there
may even be a third wave,” he said.
Li Yun and Fang Xiao contributed to the report.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/experts-predict-another-wave-of-covid-infections-in-china_5035970.html
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