Henan, China’s third most populous province, has 90% Covid infection.
An official from the province, Kan Quancheng, announced the number at a news conference, estimating it to be around 88,500,000.
After abandoning its zero-Covid rules in December, China has seen an extraordinary increase in instances.
It was in response to unusual demonstrations against measures like quarantine and widespread testing.
Mr. Kan didn’t indicate when all the illnesses occurred, but China’s zero-Covid policy kept cases low. Most of Henan’s illnesses have probably happened in the last few weeks.
According to him, fever clinic visits in Henan province peaked on December 19 and have been dropping subsequently.
When compared to official national data, the Henan province numbers for Covid are startlingly different.
Official statistics show that since the change in Covid policy, just 120,000 out of a total population of 1.4 billion had contracted the virus, with 30 succumbing to it.
Moreover, three Covid deaths were recorded by officials in mainland China on Sunday, one more than the day before.
The government data is no longer indicative of the full scope of the outbreak. Because the definition of Covid fatalities has been modified and bulk testing is no longer mandatory.
In addition to the federal government’s inconsistent data, municipal and provincial officials’ reports have been extremely diverse.
In addition to the federal government’s inconsistent data, municipal and provincial officials’ reports have been extremely diverse. Quickly after being reported, the case counts were withdrawn from the media.
Quickly after being reported, the case counts were withdrawn from the media.
Medication
Chinese health regulators say their basic medical insurance programs won’t cover Pfizer’s antiviral Covid medication Paxlovid due to its exorbitant price.
Since China’s Covid cases spiked last month, the demand for the medicine, which is temporarily covered by China’s comprehensive healthcare insurance program until March 31st, has increased dramatically.
Pfizer stated in a statement that it would keep working with the Chinese government and other interested parties to ensure a “safe and adequate supply” of the drug in China.
On Sunday, Beijing opened its border with Hong Kong and ended an obligatory quarantine for all overseas arrivals.
The first wave of pre-holiday travelers totaled 34.7 million on Saturday, according to government data. According to official publications, this was a rise of more than 35% over the previous year.
It is anticipated that millions of people will travel from urban areas to rural areas to celebrate the Lunar New Year, which begins on the last day of this month.
Officials have projected that more than two billion separate trips will be taken.