Covid-19: 250 million people affected in 20 days in China, suggests leaked document
Beijing (China), December 24: Nearly 250 million are feared to have been infected with the coronavirus in just 20 days, according to radio Free Asia citing leaked government documents circulating on social media. The development comes after China's 'zero-covid policy' was diluted in the first week of the month.
According to the leaked documents, 248 million people were infected with Covid-19 from December 1 to 20, or 17.65 per cent of China's population. The data on covid cases released by government officials on December 20 is different from the reality as nearly 37 million were estimated, according to Radio Free Asia.
On Thursday, a senior Chinese journalist told Radio Free Asia that the document was genuine and was leaked by someone who attended the meeting who was acting deliberately and in the public interest.
Earlier, China mainland witnessed 3,761 fresh coronavirus cases. No new deaths were reported. The report emerges at the time when British-based health data firm Airfinity stated Covid-19 cases in China are likely to be more than one million a day with deaths at more than 5,000 a day.
New modelling by Airfinity investigated data from regional provinces of China. Moreover, the fresh Covid-19 outbreak is rapidly increasing in some regions than in others. Beijing and Guangdong are witnessing new cases much more quickly than other areas.
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"Using the trends in regional data our team of epidemiologists has forecast the first peak to be in regions where cases are currently rising and a second peak driven by later surges in other Chinese provinces," Airfinity said.
As per the estimates by Airfinity model, case rates could reach 3.7 million a day in a January peak and 4.2 million a day in March 2023.
"China has stopped mass testing and is no longer reporting asymptomatic cases. The combination means the official data is unlikely to be a true reflection of the outbreak being experienced across the country," Airfinity's Head of Vaccines and Epidemiology Dr Louise Blair.
"China has also changed the way it records COVID-19 deaths to only include those who die from respiratory failure or pneumonia after testing positive. This is different to other countries that record deaths within a time frame of a positive test or where Covid-19 is recorded to have attributed to the cause of death. This change could downplay the extent of deaths seen in China."
- PTC NEWS
