Beijing’s new covid wave is a “wild card” and experts believe this is a sign of China being a threat to the world.
New covid wave in China rises worry
Last week, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the chief of the World Health Organisation (WHO) expressed hope about the end of the global health emergency. However, the end may not be in sight. Health experts around the world worry that China’s new covid wave may be a “wild card”. The news comes as the world was hoping for a potential end to the health emergency. “I think the world still has… work to do. The job is not done,” stated Mike Ryan. Ryan is the Emergencies chief at WHO.
“The question is whether you can call it post-pandemic when such a significant part of the world is actually just entering its second wave,” stated Dr. Marion Koopmans. Dr. Koopmans is a Dutch virologist and a part of WHO’s committee responsible for providing advice on the COVID-19 emergency. “It’s clear that we are in a very different phase, but in my mind, that pending wave in China is a wild card,” she added. The designation of the emergency state is the highest alert level for any disease outbreak. This makes providing help and managing the disease easy on a global level.
More on the health emergency
Experts believe that the domestic spread of Covid-19 in China or other places comes with the risk of mutation. The bottom line is, it’s not clear if the wave in China is variant-driven, or whether it just represents a breakdown of containment,” stated Tom Peacock. Dr. Peacock is a virologist at London’s Imperial college. “I don’t think anybody can predict for sure whether we could see new variants that might be a concern to the rest of the world, but clearly the world should be concerned if people are becoming sick and dying,” warned David Heymann. In addition to being an infectious disease specialist, Heymann is also a WHO advisor.
“I don’t think anybody can predict for sure whether we could see new variants that might be a concern to the rest of the world, but the world should be concerned if people are becoming sick and dying in China,” added Dr. David Heymann. Heymann is an infectious disease expert and a WHO advisor. Epidemiologists also warn that China may experience three new covid waves this winter. The country started dismantling its zero-covid policy last week following protests.