Amid COVID spike, China claims situation under control & Beijing 'coming back to normal'

The coronavirus surge in Beijing has peaked and "life and work here are coming back to normal", claimed the Chinese foreign ministry in a briefing where the ministry spoke about the COVID19 infections, Taiwan and North Korea. Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the pandemic situation in China was “generally as expected and under control”. Beijing is the first Chinese city to reach this point since the country abandoned its zero-COVID policy, according to the foreign ministry.

It comes after a leaked document purportedly from a National Health Commission meeting last week said over half the city’s population of around 22 million had been infected with the virus, reported South China Morning Post.  "We are confident the policy adjustment and shifting of focus will go ahead in a steady and orderly way," said the spokesperson.

Highlighting China's strategy, Wenbin said, "With Omicron less pathogenic & deadly than previous variants and China’s treatment, testing & vaccination capacity steadily on the rise, China is shifting its focus from stemming infection to preventing severe cases & caring for health, which is science-based, timely & necessary." Wenbin also accused western media of "double standards", saying "A small number of Western media tend to misrepresent China’s COVID policy adjustment and yet avoid reporting on the deficiencies and heavy price paid in their own countries’ COVID response. This is nothing but double standards."

Analysis predictred Beijing may witness death toll of 1.3 and 2.1 million

China's relaxation of the stringent COVID-19 measures might end up in a death toll of 1.3 and 2.1 million, London-based global health intelligence and analytics firm predicted. If the Chinese administration scrapped its draconian zero-COVID policy millions are expected to die due to the contraction of the novel coronavirus due to the country's low vaccination and booster rates, and lack of hybrid immunity, Airfinity asserted in its analysis. 

"Mainland China has very low levels of immunity across its population. Its citizens were vaccinated with domestically produced jabs Sinovac and Sinopharm which have been proven to have significantly lower efficacy and provide less protection against infection and death," Airfinity's analysis stated. 

"As a result of these factors, our analysis shows if mainland China sees a similar wave to Hong Kong's in February, its healthcare system could be pushed to capacity as there could be between 167 and 279 million cases nationwide, which could lead to between 1.3 and 2.1 million deaths," it continued to add.