The Chinese Ministry of Health acknowledged today, Wednesday, that the country is facing a surge in Covid-19 infections, the size of which is impossible to determine, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the new Standing Committee of the Politburo of the ruling Communist Party and senior government officials will meet during the next two days to plan for the recovery of the faltering Chinese economy, while the organization said Global Health It hopes that the world will avoid a new global emergency.
The new wave of infections is particularly prolonged in Beijing, with a population of 22 million, with a rapid spread of infections not seen in the capital since the outbreak of the epidemic.
China recorded 2,291 new cases of coronavirus with symptoms on December 13, and 7,679 new cases were recorded the previous day, of which 2,315 were with symptoms and 5,364 without symptoms.
Deputy Prime Minister Sun Shunlan announced that cases were “increasing rapidly” in Beijing, with some companies reporting 90% of their employees infected.
The new wave comes after China announced last week the easing of strict health restrictions imposed to combat Covid-19 that were aimed at reducing infections and deaths.
In particular, Beijing announced the end of automatic quarantine in special centers for those who test positive, and the cessation of large-scale, mandatory BCR testing campaigns.
As a result, the number of people taking the initiative to undergo examination decreased, which logically led to a decrease in the number of new infections recorded, which creates a false impression of an improvement in health status.
Beijing also decided to stop issuing comprehensive data on the number of new infections with Covid-19 disease, after the abolition of mandatory testing led to the inability of the numbers to give a clear picture of the actual reality.
And the Ministry of Health confirmed that the official figures no longer reflect reality, and that “most of the virus carriers without showing symptoms are no longer subject to” PCR “tests, and therefore it is impossible to form a specific idea of the real number of infected people.”
Most people are conducting self-examinations at home, without the health authorities being able to count their number.
After sticking for a long time to the hard-line “zero Covid” policy, the government today seems determined to open up the country.
However, this wave of infections, which is expected to bypass the capital to reach other regions, may have a severe impact on the hospitalization system, especially in the less developed areas.
Xi holds a meeting with the leadership
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping, the new Standing Committee of the Politburo of the ruling Communist Party and senior government officials will meet over the next two days to plan for the recovery of China’s faltering economy, as the country faces a surge in COVID-19 infections.
The annual conference on economic policies in light of the spread of virus infections will be held in the capital, Beijing, a week after the Chinese leadership abandoned the strict restrictions of the “zero Covid” policy.
Xi defended the policy, which last month sparked the biggest protests of his 10-year rule.
Three informed sources said that the annual central economic work conference will be held behind closed doors on Thursday and Friday.
Policy insiders and business analysts are watching closely, saying the leadership is likely to plan more stimulus steps and discuss growth targets.
Economists estimate that China’s growth rates will slow by about 3% this year, which is far below the official target of approximately 5.5%, which is China’s worst performance in nearly half a century.
A new global emergency
On the other hand, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said today, Wednesday, that he hopes that the Covid-19 pandemic will not cause a global health emergency to be declared next year.
His remarks, in a briefing to the media, come as China abandons its strict “zero Covid” policy and allows coexistence with the virus, raising fears that the world’s second economy will face a rise in COVID-19 cases.
The World Health Organization meets every few months to decide whether the new Corona virus – which appeared 3 years ago in Wuhan, China and caused the death of 6.6 million people – still represents a “global public health emergency”.
This is aimed at coordinating the global response, and would unlock funding for collaboration in sharing vaccines and treatments.