As much as 70% of residents in Shanghai may have been infected with Covid, state media reported today.
China is currently battling with an increase in infections after the relaxation of its ‘zero-Covid’ measures.
The government’s abrupt U-turn on December 7, and the accuracy of its case and mortality data, have come under increasing scrutiny at home and abroad, with a number of countries imposing restrictions on citizens.
Hospitals and crematoriums have been overwhelmed quickly, and concerns grow about the spread of the virus, but official data is still patchy.
Chen Erzhen, vice president at Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai, estimated that most of the the megacity’s 25 million people may have been infected.
‘Now the spread of the epidemic in Shanghai is very wide,’ he told Dajiangdong Studio, owned by the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily.
‘It may have reached 70% of the population, which is 20 to 30 times more than (in April and May).’
Shanghai suffered a gruelling two-month lockdown from April, during which more than 600,000 residents were infected and thousands were forced into quarantine centres.
WHO has urged Chinese health officials to regularly share specific and real-time information on the outbreak.
The global body has invited Chinese scientists to present detailed data on viral sequencing at a technical advisory group meeting today.
It has also asked its government to share data on hospitalisations, deaths and vaccinations.
Three new Covid deaths were reported on Monday, taking the official death toll since the pandemic began to 5,253.
‘Severe and critical illnesses account for 3% to 4% of infected patients currently admitted to designated hospitals in Beijing,’ Tong Zhaohui, vice president of the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, told the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper.
Meanwhile, the European Union has offered free vaccines to China in ‘solidarity and support’.
But Beijing has insisted the situation was ‘under control’ and medical provisions ‘in adequate supply’.
‘We are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the Covid measures for political purposes and will take counter-measures based on the principle of reciprocity,’ government spokesperson Mao Ning said.
Sweden, which holds the EU presidency, stressed that travellers from China ‘need to be prepared for decisions being taken at short notice’.
Several EU nations have announced individual efforts over the past week as cases have continued to surge.
But the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control insisted the situation in China does not pose an immediate overall health threat.
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