COVID: China says 80% of population infected, 72,000 died in six weeks

China says it recorded at least 72,00 COVID-related deaths between December 8 and January 19.

According to the South China Morning Post, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Sunday that the COVID-19 hospital death toll was 12,658 from January 13 to January 19.

The country had previously reported 60,000 deaths between December 8 and January 12.

Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist of China’s CDC, was quoted as saying “the latest wave has infected about 80 percent of the people in the country”.

“The massive social mobility during Chinese New Year could accelerate the spread of the pandemic to a certain extent, and the number of infected people will increase in some areas,” he said.

He added that because of the infection rate, there was little possibility of a large-scale epidemic rebound or a second wave of cases in the next two to three months.

His statement came amid concerns that the travel rush that takes place around the Lunar New Year holiday period could spread the virus and cause a second wave.

China has seen a surge in COVID-19 infections since it relaxed restrictions in December.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had earlier raised concerns about China not being transparent about the latest outbreak.

Some countries have gone ahead to impose restrictions on travellers from China, demanding negative COVID tests.

Ifedayo Adetifa, director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has said the federal government is not yet considering severe COVID restrictions.