Chinese Capital Faces Surging COVID-19 Cases In Fourth Consecutive Week

Amidst concerns about a new wave of COVID-19 infections, the Chinese capital is grappling with a surge in cases for the fourth consecutive week.

As the situation worsens, schools in certain areas of the country on Friday have been instructed to implement precautionary measures to mitigate the spread of the virus.

Leading Chinese epidemiologist, Zhong Nanshan, anticipates a staggering 65 million new cases per week by the end of June, marking the expected peak of this wave.

This projection is higher than the current estimate of 40 million cases per week.

Although it was previously believed that 80% to 90% of the Chinese population had already been infected during the wave in December and January, recent findings indicate that immunity levels have declined.

Official figures regarding the number of deaths caused by the virus during the winter period have not yet been released.

Foreign experts, however, estimate the death toll to be around 1 million.

China, after adhering to a strict zero-COVID strategy for three years, abruptly abandoned it in December.

The consequences of this shift were apparent as hospitals struggled to cope with the resulting surge in infections.