About 80 percent of China’s population has been infected with Covid-19, a top government epidemiologist said, as he discounted the possibility of a new wave of cases during the lunar new year period.
Wu Zunyou’s comments came as Chinese families crossed the border and reunited for the New Year holiday for the first time since 2019. In the biggest annual human migration, the country’s transport ministry estimates 2.1 billion Chinese citizens will make the trip.
The festival, which runs from January 21 to 27, is China’s biggest annual holiday with financial markets closed all week. It is also celebrated throughout Asia in countries such as South Korea, Vietnam and Indonesia.
In a sudden turnaround late last year, China loosened its strict zero-Covid policy, triggering a massive outbreak. Wu, chief epidemiologist at China’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the current wave of infections would protect against a rise in cases caused by new year migration.
“The possibility of a nationwide rebound or a second wave in the next two to three months is low, as this wave of the epidemic has already infected about 80 percent of the population,” Wu said, according to a report in Global. Times, Chinese state media newspaper.
Wu acknowledged the large movement of people during the holidays could cause infections to rise in some localities.
China has been accused of undercounting the number of Covid-19 deaths after the country said last weekend that nearly 60,000 people had died from the disease from December 8 to January 12.
One of the statistical skewing factors is the pressure on medical professionals from local authorities not to list Covid as the cause of death on official certificates, which has disappointed the brothers.
With China lifting quarantine restrictions in January, travel providers have seen a surge in bookings in the new year from the country’s 1.4bn population, most of whom have been stuck at its borders for three years.
Trip.com, China’s largest online travel agency, said popular destinations including Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, Singapore and the United States are a boon to the global travel industry.
Southeast Asia and Thailand are particularly set to enjoy the greatest benefit from Chinese tourists who venture beyond mainland China, or the Hong Kong and Macau regions, a gambling hub adjacent to Guangdong province in southern China.
Overseas travel by Chinese citizens increased 540 percent compared to last year’s lunar new year period, according to Trip.com.