China's COVID-19 surge: Around 100 mn COVID cases, 1 mn deaths, say doctors

New Delhi: In view of the upsurge in COVID-19 cases globally, doctors are expecting approximately 100 million COVID cases, five million admissions and one million deaths in China.

"Based on mathematical calculations, we expect close to 100 million COVID cases in China, five million admissions and one million deaths, which is a huge number," said Dr. Neeraj Kumar Gupta, HOD of Pulmonary Medicine at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on Saturday.

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Gupta said that China is at the same stage where India was earlier but India is now well-experienced in fighting the virus.

"We faced the first wave, the second wave of a much serious delta variant and the third wave of the Omicron variant which was not that serious but very infectious," Gupta said.

He said that Chinese citizens have low immunity due to the country's strict lockdown strategies.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday announced that the RT-PCR test has been made mandatory for passengers coming from five countries including China.

"The RT-PCR test to be mandatory for international arrivals from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand. On arrival, if any passenger from these countries is found symptomatic or tests positive for COVID-19 infection, then he/she will be put under quarantine," Health Minister Mandaviya said in a conversation with ANI.

He also said that the Air Suvidha form filling to declare the current health status will also be made compulsory for international passengers arriving from these Asian countries.

Taking note of the rising cases of COVID globally, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said that the Centre and States need to work in "tandem" and in a "collaborative spirit" as was done during the previous surges.

Mandaviya, while chairing a virtual meeting on Friday with the health ministers of the states, Principal Secretaries, Additional Chief Secretaries and Information Commissioners, said that the country needs to be on the alert and be fully prepared for COVID management.

The meeting was held in view of the recent upsurge in cases in some countries like China, Japan, Brazil and the United States in the presence of Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar, NITI Aayog member V K Paul to review the public health preparedness for containment and management of COVID-19 and progress of national COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Almost 250 million people in China may have been affected by COVID-19 in just 20 days after the zero-COVID policy was diluted in the first week of the month, according to Radio Free Asia citing leaked government documents circulating on social media.

In the 20-minute meeting of China's National Health Commission, as per the leaked document look like, 248 million people were infected with COVID-19 from December 1 to 20, or 17.65 percent of China's population.

As per Radio Free Asia, the data on COVID cases released by government officials on December 20 is different from the reality as nearly 37 million were estimated.

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