After the dystopic scenes reported toward the end of 2022 following China’s decision to end its zero-Covid policy, there is some good news. Despite the busy festive and travel season, cases in China did not see a major rise.
China after removal of zero-covid policy
As per a new report by China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cases in the nation plateaued since the spike in mid-December 2022. The country saw no major spike despite the rise in traveling due to the holidays and the Chinese New Year travel rush. “There has not been an obvious rebound in Covid cases during the Lunar New Year holidays,” stated CDC. As per the data, 6.94 daily cases reported on December 22 slid down to 30,000 on January 30. On the other hand, the number of hospitalized people reduced from 1.6 million on January 1 to 144,000 on January 30.
The Xi Jinping government was advised by nations across the world to put an end to the draconian zero-Covid policy. However, Jinping adamantly sticking to it proved to be a problem. A shockingly high number of people were reported to be infected and overflowing hospitals were unable to manage the issue. Ordinary people were living in attritional conditions, making the situation worse. However, the policy came to an end on December 7, 2022. (firework.com)
Recent changes since abandoning the strict rules
Since tossing away the zero-Covid policy, no new variant of the virus has emerged. This suggests people in China have achieved herd immunity to some extent. Additionally, a new study by Chinese scientists analyzing 413 samples reveals no evidence of “novel variants” emerging. “Our analysis suggests two known Omicron sub-variants, rather than any new variants have chiefly been responsible for the current surge in Beijing, and likely China as a whole,” reveals the study. Currently, the BA5.2 and BF.7 subvariants are dominating over 90 percent of the cases. The dip in numbers is helping in simmering down apprehensions of a new variant across the world.
