China Prepares For New Covid Wave

An expert on respiratory diseases believes that China is on the cusp of another Covid-19 wave that could peak at as many as 65 million infections per week by the end of next month.

On Monday, Chinese pulmonologist Zhong Nanshan addressed the 2023 Greater Bay Area Science Forum in Guangzhou, where he warned that the XBB subvariant of Omicron is fueling a new wave of the disease across the country, Bloomberg reported citing local media.

Should Zhong's prediction come true, a summer wave would be less severe than the last Omicron wave that pummeled China late last year. The government estimated in December that many as 37 million people a day were being infected after Beijing abruptly moved to scrap its draconian Covid restrictions that were hampering the Chinese economy.

Zhong also revealed two new vaccines — designed to target XBB — were on their way.

The China Center for Disease Control and Prevention claims the infection rate of the XBB variant increased from 0.2% in mid-February to 75% in late April, and then to 84% percent earlier this month, according to the Global Times.