China on alert as it faces new wave of coronavirus infections

May 26

 

China appears to be bracing for a fresh wave of coronavirus cases, with an infectious disease expert saying weekly numbers could hit 65 million at the end of June.

 

Beijing's health authorities on Wednesday said the number of infectious disease cases reported in the capital in the week up to Sunday topped 25,000. They said COVID-19 accounted for the largest number of these for the fourth straight week.

 

China's coronavirus situation is difficult to grasp after the government ended its zero-COVID policy in January and stopped releasing domestic infection data after April.

 

But the infectious disease expert on Monday said weekly new cases in the country are likely to reach 40 million at the end of May and 65 million at the end of June.

 

Amid the uptrend in new cases, health officials are urging people in Beijing to take thorough precautions, including wearing masks on public transportation.

 

NHK