Chinese cities battle wave of Covid surge

A health worker takes a swab sample from a woman to test for Coronavirus in Shanghai on Sunday. Pic/AFP

Streets in major Chinese cities were eerily quiet on Sunday as people stayed home to protect themselves from a surge in Covid-19 cases that has hit urban centres from north to south. China is currently in the first of an expected three waves of Covid cases this winter, according to the country's chief epidemiologist, Wu Zunyou.

A US-based research institute said this week that the country could see an explosion of cases and over a million people in China could die of Covid in 2023. Cases could multiply across the country if people follow typical travel patterns of returning to their home areas in a mass transit movement for the Lunar New Year holiday next month.

China is also yet to officially report any Covid deaths since December 7, when the country abruptly ended most restrictions key to a zero-Covid tolerance policy following unprecedented public protests against the protocol. The strategy had been championed by President Xi Jinping.

Also read: China Covid outbreak: Beijing reports first deaths since easing of restrictions

As part of the easing of the zero-Covid curbs, mass testing for the virus has ended, casting doubt on whether officially reported case numbers can capture the full scale of the outbreak. China reported some 2,097 new symptomatic Covid infections on Saturday.

In Beijing, the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has already hit services from catering to parcel deliveries. Funeral homes and crematoriums across the city of 22 million are also struggling to keep up with demand. Social media posts also showed empty subways in the city of Xian in China's northwest, while internet users complained of delays to deliveries.

In Chengdu, streets were deserted but food delivery times were improving, said a woman, after services began to adapt to the recent surge. Getting hold of antigen test kits was still difficult, she said.

2,097
New Covid cases in China on Saturday

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