China’s Health Ministry acknowledged on Wednesday that the country is facing a surge in Covid-19 infections, the extent of which is impossible to determine, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the new Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee ruling officials and senior government officials are set to meet over the next two days to plan for the recovery of China’s faltering economy, while the organization said Global Health hoped the world would avoid a new global emergency.
The new wave of infections is particularly prolonged in Beijing, 22 million inhabitants, with a rapid spread of infections not seen in the capital since the outbreak of the epidemic.
China recorded 2,291 new coronavirus cases with symptoms on Dec. 13, and 7,679 new cases were recorded the previous day, including 2,315 with symptoms and 5,364 without symptoms.
Deputy Prime Minister Sun Shunlan said cases were “rising rapidly” in Beijing, with some companies reporting 90% of their employees had been infected.
The new wave comes after China announced last week the easing of strict health restrictions imposed to fight Covid-19 aimed at reducing infections and deaths.
Notably, Beijing announced the end of automatic quarantine in special centers for those who test positive and the cessation of large-scale mandatory BCR testing campaigns.
As a result, the number of people who took the initiative to undergo examinations decreased, which logically led to a decrease in the number of newly registered infections, which creates a false impression of an improvement in the state of health.
Beijing has also decided to stop publishing comprehensive data on the number of new Covid-19 infections after the abolition of mandatory testing resulted in the numbers failing to give a clear picture of the current reality.
And the Ministry of Health confirmed that the official data no longer reflect reality, and that “most symptom-free virus carriers are no longer subjected to” PCR “tests, and therefore it is impossible to get a precise idea of the number reality of infected people”.
Most people are carrying out self-exams at home, without the health authorities being able to count the number.
After having long remained on the hard line of “zero Covid”, today the government seems determined to open up the country.
However, this wave of infections, which should bypass the capital to reach other regions, could have a strong impact on the hospitalization system, especially in less developed areas.
Xi holds a meeting with the leadership
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping, the new Politburo Standing Committee of the ruling Communist Party and senior government officials will meet over the next two days to plan for recovery from China’s faltering economy as the country faces a surge of COVID-19 infections.
The annual economic policy conference in light of the spread of virus infections will be held in the capital, Beijing, a week after the Chinese leadership abandoned the strict restrictions of the “zero Covid” policy.
Xi defended the policy, which sparked the biggest protests in his 10-year rule last month.
Three informed sources said the annual central economic work conference would be held behind closed doors on Thursday and Friday.
Insiders and business analysts are watching closely, saying leadership is likely to plan further stimulus measures and discuss growth targets.
Economists estimate that China’s growth rates will slow to around 3% this year, which is far below the official target of around 5.5%, which is China’s worst performance in nearly half a century.
A new global emergency
On the other hand, World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that he hopes the Covid-19 pandemic will not cause a global health emergency to be declared next year.
His remarks, in a media briefing, come as China abandons its strict “zero Covid” policy and allows coexistence with the virus, raising fears that the world’s second-largest economy will face a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The World Health Organization meets every few months to decide whether the new Corona virus – which appeared 3 years ago in Wuhan, China and claimed the lives of 6.6 million people – still represents a “global public health emergency “.
This is intended to coordinate the global response and would unlock funding for collaborative sharing of vaccines and treatments.
