COVID

Boosting vaccination rates, widespread mask use and reimposing some restrictions on movement could reduce the number of deaths.

The model forecasts that the total number of deaths could be reduced to around 290,000 between now and April if China brings in certain measures when the death rate passes a certain threshold. “This similarity in large part reflects an agreement that herd immunity will only be achieved after a large, and difficult to contain, spread of transmission throughout the entire country.” [Another model estimates](https://covid19.healthdata.org/china?view=cumulative-deaths&tab=trend) that China will face a COVID-19 death toll of half a million people by April, with 1.6 million deaths by the end of 2023, if the country continues on its current path. On 13 December, the government announced that people aged 60 and older, and other high-risk groups, should get a fourth dose of vaccine, preferably one based on a different technology from their primary dose. Pushing fourth vaccine doses, combined with giving antiviral drugs to people aged 60 and older and to other individuals at high-risk of developing severe disease, could reduce deaths by up to 35%. Testing is now voluntary, and last week, the National Health Commission announced that it will stop reporting the number of infected people who have no symptoms.

Chinese health authorities have reported the nation's first COVID-19 deaths in more than two weeks.

The lack of data has made it more difficult to grasp the scale of the outbreak or its direction. Hospitals are also running short on staff, and reports say workers have been asked to return to their posts as long as they aren’t feverish. [protests over the restrictions](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/news-wrap-china-eases-some-covid-policies-in-several-cities) that grew into calls for President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party to step down — a level of public dissent not seen in decades. China had not reported a death from COVID-19 since Dec. [READ MORE: China relaxes COVID restrictions, braces for wave of infections](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/china-relaxes-covid-restrictions-braces-for-wave-of-infections) [“zero-COVID”](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/china-eases-zero-covid-rules-after-wide-protests-of-lockdowns) approach as keeping numbers of cases and deaths relatively low — comparing itself favorably to the U.S., where the death toll has topped 1.1 million.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Galway West Fianna Fáil TD Éamon Ó Cuiv has branded the delay in paying Home Care workers their Covid Bonus a 'disgrace'.

[Breaking News13 hours ago](https://connachttribune.ie/local-td-requests-meeting-with-ceo-of-irish-water-following-gort-water-debacle/) [Breaking News12 hours ago](https://connachttribune.ie/m6-lane-closures-today-tomorrow-and-wednesday-at-ballinasloe-and-oranmore-junctions/) [Breaking News9 hours ago](https://connachttribune.ie/spiddal-native-aine-lally-is-new-communications-manager-for-tg-ceathar/) [Breaking News8 hours ago](https://connachttribune.ie/galway-meeting-hears-that-the-government-might-be-tempted-to-raid-teachers-pension-pots/) [Breaking News](https://connachttribune.ie/section/breaking-news/) [Breaking News8 hours ago](https://connachttribune.ie/junior-minister-anne-rabbitte-now-involved-gort-water-debacle/)

China reported its first COVID-19 deaths in weeks Monday, but experts say the number may only rise as the country experiences a surge of cases.

15 and 40% of those [aged 80 and older](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202211/12/WS636f7763a3104917543295a1.html) are boosted as of early November, according to China Daily. [WHO](https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/the-sinovac-covid-19-vaccine-what-you-need-to-know), the Sinovac vaccine is 100% effective against severe COVID-19. [emergency use authorization](https://www.163.com/money/article/FKMTJ4VU00259DLP.html). "They know nothing about COVID like you and I have been vaccinated or have gotten COVID-19 or both," he said. [reported on Monday](http://en.nhc.gov.cn/2022-12/19/c_86217.htm) by the National Health Commission and occurred in Beijing, are the first recorded since [Dec. He continued, "Many Chinese don't have that luxury. [69.7% of those aged 60 and older](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202212/15/WS639a5bd5a31057c47eba470e.html) as of Dec. According to data from According to the [World Health Organization](https://covid19.who.int/region/wpro/country/cn), 87% of the population has been vaccinated, but the government says more than 90% are vaccinated according to [China Daily](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202212/18/WS639e6222a31057c47eba4e5d.html), a state-run newspaper. "In one way or another, they'll be infected." Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist and chief strategy officer at the University of Washington Population Health Initiative. [Johns Hopkins](https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/china), China has had over 16,000 deaths since the pandemic started.

China's abrupt and under-prepared exit from zero-Covid could lead to nearly 1 million deaths, according to a new study, as the country braces for an ...

Speaking at a conference in Beijing on Saturday, Wu said the current wave would run until mid-January. Chinese experts have warned that the worst is yet to come. For three consecutive years, these homecoming trips have been discouraged by authorities under the zero-Covid policy. But the rest of the case count has been rendered meaningless too, as cities roll back mass testing and allow people to use antigen tests and isolate at home. In the financial hub of Shanghai, schools have moved most classes online starting from Monday. [stopped reporting asymptomatic cases](https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/14/china/beijing-zero-covid-easing-streets-impact-intl-hnk-mic/index.html) last week, conceding it was no longer possible to track the actual number of infections.

Animals could give us the virus—again. ... An illustration of a deer hide with dots on it. ... This past spring, Amanda Goldberg crouched in the leafy undergrowth ...

[wet markets](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/04/ban-wet-markets/609781/) where wild animals are sold is an obvious preventive measure, but it has been difficult to implement because the livelihoods and diets of many people, especially in the global South, [depend on them](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00112-1/fulltext). But to think so is like living in the Middle Ages, Holmes said, when the Earth was considered the center of the universe. This research adds to the small but growing body of evidence that the COVID we spread to animals could come back to bite us. Paying attention to animal COVID often starts with a single swab—and a snout to stick it in. [coughing and sluggishness](https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/14/1/120), as in [pumas and lions](https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/14/1/120). At the very least, with animal COVID, “we need to know what species it’s in, in what abundance, and genetically, what those variants look like,” Holmes said. [mink in the Netherlands](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27096-9#Sec2), [hamsters in Hong Kong](https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0140673622003269), and a [cat in Thailand](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01792-y#:~:text=A%20team%20in%20Thailand%20reports,say%20the%20results%20are%20convincing.). So far, no data show that the animal variants that have spread to humans are more dangerous for us. [according to the CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/animals.html#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20evidence%20that,contact%2C%20but%20this%20is%20rare.). The consequences of sustained animal transmission are exactly the same as they are in people: The more COVID spreads, the more opportunities the virus has to evolve into new variants. As long as animals are still getting COVID, we’re not out of the doghouse either. [most likely](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abp8715) jumped from an animal through an intermediate host to humans in Wuhan.

Public Health Mid-West is reporting 172 new COVID-19 cases in According to provisional data, 42 new influenza cases and 92 new RSV cases are also reported ...

This website uses 'cookies' to give you the best, most relevant experience. Check the HSE website for information on those vaccines and how to get them.” You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: [email protected]. “We are seeing very high levels of respiratory viruses, including flu, COVID-19 and RSV, circulating in the community. Deaths - Tipperary Live - Find the latest Tipperary Clonmel Ireland Local County Region breaking news, sport, business, death notices, entertainment, motoring and more Motoring News - Tipperary Live - Find the latest Tipperary Clonmel Ireland Local County Region breaking news, sport, business, death notices, entertainment, motoring and more Roscrea - Tipperary Live - Find the latest Tipperary Clonmel Ireland Local County Region breaking news, sport, business, death notices, entertainment, motoring and more Nenagh - Tipperary Live - Find the latest Tipperary Clonmel Ireland Local County Region breaking news, sport, business, death notices, entertainment, motoring and more Fethard - Tipperary Live - Find the latest Tipperary Clonmel Ireland Local County Region breaking news, sport, business, death notices, entertainment, motoring and more Clonmel - Tipperary Live - Find the latest Tipperary Clonmel Ireland Local County Region breaking news, sport, business, death notices, entertainment, motoring and more Cashel - Tipperary Live - Find the latest Tipperary Clonmel Ireland Local County Region breaking news, sport, business, death notices, entertainment, motoring and more National - Tipperary Live - Find the latest Tipperary Clonmel Ireland Local County Region breaking news, sport, business, death notices, entertainment, motoring and more

THE DEPARTMENT of Public Health Mid-West is urging vulnerable people to avail of Covid-19 booster and flu vaccines as they expect a 'rise in respiratory i.

Questo sito utilizza cookie di profilazione, propri o di altri siti, per inviare messaggi pubblicitari mirati. We are asking everyone to ensure that they are up to date with their Covid or flu vaccines.” You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: [email protected]. Infection with these viruses can be serious and can also lead to bacterial infections as well. Keep up to date with the latest Limerick Sports Star news in Limerick and County Limerick Keep up to date with the latest sports news in Limerick and County Limerick

Professor Breda Smyth also said numbers of young children in hospital with RSV remain very high. Data collected through genome sequencing shows Covid-19 BQ.1 ...

“(RSV) remains at very high levels in Ireland,” she told the minister. She also reported a 9.5% increase in positive results using antigen testing, during the same time. The overall number includes 12 people admitted to ICU.

We'll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Chinese politics & policy news every morning. China's mismanaged exit from its “zero-Covid” ...

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There has been a “sharp increase” in the number of flu and COVID cases since early December, the HSE has said.

“The two previous winters, COVID was the dominant virus that was out there; prior to that, the influenza virus was the dominant virus. “This Christmas and this winter is different to the previous winters that we’ve had,” she told The Pat Kenny Show. There has been a “sharp increase” in the number of flu and COVID cases since early December, the national lead for the HSE’s COVID Vaccination Programme has said.

China reported five new COVID-19 deaths for Dec. 19, compared with two the previous day, increasing the nation's fatalities to 5242 the National Health ...

Dec 20 (Reuters) - China reported five new COVID-19 deaths for Dec. Excluding imported infections, China reported 2,656 new local cases, up from 1,918 a day earlier. China reports five new COVID deaths for Dec 19 vs 2 a day earlier

Police and security guards were stationed outside a Beijing crematorium reportedly designated to handle Covid fatalities, as questions over China's virus ...

Emergency wards already under pressure from increased Covid-19 infections and stress expected to increase with flu and staff holidays.

New research suggests that those infected more than once have an increased risk of developing long COVID and other health problems compared to those ...

The big message and big picture is that reinfections are bad." It only compared one group of individuals who had a single infection to a separate group who had more than one infection. [A large study](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02051-3?) involving the records of 5.8 million Department of Veterans Affairs patients that was published in Nature Medicine in November found that patients infected more than once had significantly higher risks of death, hospitalization, heart problems, blood clotting, long COVID, and a host of other health issues and organ damage. New research suggests that those infected more than once have an increased risk of developing long COVID and other health problems compared to those infected just once. It is a sentiment echoed by Truong and Cheung. Nonetheless, the message for the public is straightforward, says Cheung. “It makes sense that repeat infections would not be beneficial to a person's health. A prior infection does not erase the risk, Cheung says. COVID-19 is definitely not over, says Angela Cheung, MD, PhD, a senior physician scientist with the University Health Network and a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. “We are definitely seeing a lot of patients who, when they get reinfected, have worsening post-COVID issues. And among patients infected more than once, the symptoms appear worse. Instead, a steady flow of patients still shows up at the Emory Executive Park post-COVID clinic he and a colleague launched in fall 2020 in Atlanta.

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the ...

The model forecasts that the total number of deaths could be reduced to around 290,000 between now and April if China brings in certain measures when the death rate passes a certain threshold. “This similarity in large part reflects an agreement that herd immunity will only be achieved after a large, and difficult to contain, spread of transmission throughout the entire country.” [Another model estimates](https://covid19.healthdata.org/china?view=cumulative-deaths&tab=trend) that China will face a COVID-19 death toll of half a million people by April, with 1.6 million deaths by the end of 2023, if the country continues on its current path. On 13 December, the government announced that people aged 60 and older, and other high-risk groups, should get a fourth dose of vaccine, preferably one based on a different technology from their primary dose. Pushing fourth vaccine doses, combined with giving antiviral drugs to people aged 60 and older and to other individuals at high-risk of developing severe disease, could reduce deaths by up to 35%. Testing is now voluntary, and last week, the National Health Commission announced that it will stop reporting the number of infected people who have no symptoms.

NHS vaccination teams have visited every care home in England to offer life-saving Covid boosters and flu jabs ahead of the festive...

“We have now visited every care home to offer life-saving protection from Covid just in time to make sure loved ones can spend time together this Christmas and I would urge anyone eligible but yet to get their jab to book an appointment now.” NHS director for vaccinations and screening Steve Russell said: “Care home residents are among those we prioritised at the start of this rollout to make sure our hard-working teams of vaccinators could get to as many care homes and provide protection to as many residents as quickly as possible. NHS vaccination teams have visited every care home in England to offer life-saving Covid boosters and flu jabs ahead of the festive period, NHS England reported this past weekend.

Cities across China scrambled to install hospital beds and build fever screening clinics on Tuesday as authorities reported five more deaths and ...

The possibility of strains that are more contagious and more pathogenic is even lower." Reuters could not establish if the deaths were due to COVID. Beijing reported five COVID-related deaths on Tuesday, following two on Monday, which were the first fatalities reported in weeks. Heart attacks or cardiovascular disease causing death of infected people will not get that classification. "But the possibility of them becoming more lethal is low. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

China rushed to install hospital beds across cities and build fever screening clinics amid a surge in covid cases in the country.

China appears to be seeing an increase in Covid deaths across a swath of the country that aren't being reported in government figures, according to social ...

People from Hebei in the north to Guangdong in the south have flocked to China’s Twitter-style Weibo platform to post about longer-than-normal queues at funeral homes, and crematoriums handling a growing number of bodies. [wave of fatalities](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-19/security-guard-beijing-crematorium-as-covid-deaths-questioned) that, until now, has been centered in the capital of Beijing — which has officially had seven deaths in recent days despite an explosion in infections — is quietly rippling through less prominent parts of the country. [Covid Zero](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-06/how-china-looks-to-be-easing-its-covid-zero-strategy-quicktake-lbc3t6dj).

Chinese authorities are rushing to boost the number of intensive care beds and health workers and increase medication supplies as Covid-19 surges through ...

Guangzhou, a city of 15 million, has increased the number of fever clinics to allow for as many as 110,000 patients a day, up from 40,000. China’s economy has been damaged by a property sector collapse and the zero-Covid induced disruptions to production and supply chains. On Monday, thousands of comments under a post which had reported the weekend’s official death toll as just three, were made unviewable. The report said hospitals were “urgently” borrowing staff from other facilities to retrain them. According to the Global Times, several major city hospitals were sourcing more ventilators and other emergency equipment. A full picture of the impact is difficult to gauge.

Crematoriums across China have said they are straining to deal with an influx of bodies, as the country battles a wave of Covid cases that authorities have ...

"The whole of Guangzhou is like this. Delays in entering the crematorium were obvious, with a driver towards the front of the queue saying that he had already waited several hours. In the southern megapolis of Guangzhou, one crematorium in Zengcheng district said that they are cremating more than 30 bodies a day.

China's improbably low coronavirus death toll has become an object of ridicule and anger. Health-care authorities reported only five covid-related deaths on ...

Many families, fearing that hospitals and local authorities are unprepared, have reacted to the sudden easing of coronavirus restrictions by Officials denied a coverup and said the additional deaths had been discovered from thorough checks of funeral and prison records. That morning, he had been running a high fever and vomiting, leading the family to suspect the virus was partially to blame, Yang said in an interview. Aside from the toll on families, a spike in avoidable deaths would be an embarrassment for the Chinese Communist Party, which has justified harsh coronavirus lockdowns by citing the great value the leadership places on saving every life it can. On Tuesday, the People’s Daily newspaper, the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, ran an article with the headline: “I tested positive. “They stopped counting — too many have been infected and too many people died.” A simple funeral was held at a local crematorium on Monday, with many attendees still coronavirus-positive. The State Council, China’s cabinet, in early December issued updated guidance on the classification and reporting of covid-related deaths. In recent days, funeral homes in Beijing have been unusually busy, with some employees reporting that covid-related deaths are the cause, according to reports from the Financial Times and the Associated Press. A medical student who collapsed while at work was also cited by commentators as another case missing from the official figures. [ stopped reporting](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/14/china-covid-surge-asymptomatic-cases-deaths/?itid=lk_inline_manual_30&itid=lk_inline_manual_10) asymptomatic cases, word of mouth has become the main way many track the outbreak. It also raised the threshold for considering an individual to have covid. Of particular concern is the low vaccination rate among older populations, with just 42 percent of people 80 and over having received a booster shot.

Crematoriums across China are straining to deal with an influx of bodies as the country battles a wave of Covid cases that authorities have said is ...

"The toll of the virus is of concern to the rest of the world given the size of China's GDP, given the size of China's economy," he added. "We know that any time the virus is spreading, that it is in the wild, that it has the potential to mutate and to pose a threat to people everywhere," State Department spokesman Ned Price said. "The whole of Guangzhou is like this," they added, stressing that it was "hard to say" whether the surge in bodies was linked to Covid. In the northeastern city of Shenyang, a staff member at a funeral services business said the bodies of the deceased were being left unburied for up to five days because crematoriums are "absolutely packed". "We are not sure (if it's related to Covid), you need to ask the leaders in charge." "The number of bodies picked up in recent days is many times more than previously," a staffer who did not give their name said.

Cities across China also scrambling to install hospital beds and build fever clinics amid a widening COVID-19 outbreak.

“The whole of Guangzhou is like this. In the southern megalopolis of Guangzhou, one crematorium in the Zengcheng district said they were cremating more than 30 bodies a day. But the staff refused to say if the deaths were related to COVID-19, telling AFP to ask the “leaders in charge”. In Chongqing – a city of 30 million where authorities this week urged people with “mild” COVID-19 symptoms to go to work – one crematorium told AFP they had run out of space to keep bodies. In Beijing, a city of 21 million, security guards were seen patrolling the entrance of a designated COVID-19 crematorium, where more than a dozen vehicles were waiting to enter. Crematoriums in the cities of Beijing, Chongqing and Guangzhou told the AFP news agency on Tuesday that they were much busier than normal, with one of the facilities reporting running out of space for bodies.

Experts outside China are watching a COVID-19 surge, worried a nation of 1.4 billion people is inadequately vaccinated and may not have the tools to treat a ...

They could have bought themselves time to be in a better position.” “We stand ready to help any country in the world with vaccines, treatments, anything else that we can be helpful with,” he said. If you haven’t done it by now, it’s too late,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “We want China to get COVID right,” Blinken said earlier this month. However, the United States and other Western countries are not openly encouraging China to accept Western-made mRNA vaccines, White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. He refused to give details, citing “sensitive diplomatic channels.”

The United States hopes that China can address the current COVID-19 outbreak as the toll of the virus is a global concern due to the size of the Chinese ...

7 is inconsistent with the experience of other countries after similar moves. He added that anytime the virus is spreading it has the potential to mutate and pose a threat everywhere. 3, days before Beijing announced that it was lifting curbs which had largely kept the virus in check for three years but triggered widespread protests last month.

Deaths due to coronavirus in China's Beijing reached 5242 on Tuesday. Several media reports have even suggested the Chinese government may be hiding the ...

The National Health Commission on Tuesday said five newly recorded fatalities, all in Beijing, had taken the country’s total death toll to 5,242. [By India Today Web Desk](/author/india-today-web-desk): China's Covid-19 outbreak may spawn new mutations of the virus, the United States has raised concerns. - “The toll of the virus is of concern to the rest of the world," US has said

Several local governments in China have encouraged people with mild cases of COVID-19 to go to work this week.

Some scientific models have estimated numbers will rise with an eventual death toll in the tens or hundreds of thousands. Vaccination centers visited over recent days have been largely empty and there has been no major publicity drive in the entirely state-controlled media. “The current wave of infection resembles an epidemic tsunami,” he said in a Q&A piece published online this week. The moves appear to be in response to worker shortages that have affected medical care and food deliveries. China had long hailed its restrictive “zero-COVID” approach of lockdowns, quarantines and compulsory testing as keeping case numbers and deaths relatively low. The announcement Tuesday followed similar ones from the cities of Wuhu in Anhui province and Chongqing earlier this week.

China Covid Outbreak News Live: The United States has expressed its concern over the possibility of a new mutation of the Covid-19 virus as numbers continue ...

There isn't any opposition from the state government to interfaith marriages. Good to see participation from across party lines," tweets Prime Minister Narendra Modi On enquiry, it was found that the bottle was taken from a godown in Moriwan village: Mahesh Kumar, Insp, Vikram PS, Patna. Part of Russia's Urgenoi-Pomary-Uzhhorod gas pipeline where a blast occurred earlier on Tuesday is closed, emergency services in Russia's Chuvashia region said on Tuesday. The team will submit its report within 10 days: Lucknow Development Authority Regional/Assistant Regional Managers will be on duty at bus stations from 8 pm to 12 am to monitor fog condition: UPSRTC China said only Covid-19 deaths from 'respiratory failures' will be included in the official death toll, as the country witnessed a massive spike in infections fuelled by new variants of the Omicron strain. Vostro accounts are held by a bank on behalf of another, often foreign bank, and are a key part of correspondent banking. The Delhi government will build a water recycling plant of two million gallons per day (MGD) capacity in Bawana as part of its plan to provide round-the-clock water supply in the city, according to a statement on Tuesday. The AAP alleged that the LG gave the order on the saffron party's directions and claimed that Saxena has no power to issue such a directive. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday directed the Finance Department to come up with the final proposal regarding the old pension scheme to ensure its implementation at the earliest. Retail inflation for farm and rural workers rose to 6.87 per cent and 6.99 per cent, respectively, in November on annual basis mainly due to lower prices of certain food items.

As China lifts its stringent zero-COVID policy, public health messaging has taken a U-turn. People are grappling with the whiplash, trying to find a way to ...

Chen says that scientists have some soul searching to do in the next couple of years. Other smaller social media accounts made videos of the report, putting "British Media" in the headlines. "It's kind of flying in the dark." An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Zhang Wenhong as the director of a Shanghai hospital. Many are vulnerable to the disease, live in places where healthcare resources are scarce, and aren't adept at finding information on social media. At various stages in the pandemic, many countries have changed course around what healthcare messages to send. Abrupt changes in public health messaging is not a new or uniquely Chinese challenge. [suggested ](http://zyyj.gxzf.gov.cn/xwdt/gxgg/t14206111.shtml)making tea out of orange peels and monk fruit - both common ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine - to prevent infection. one [wrote ](https://www.163.com/dy/article/HO13MI6F05560SZA.html)in a blog post. Zhang Wenhong, the infectious disease director of a Shanghai hospital affiliated with Fudan University, said the zero-COVID policy should be relaxed even before an outbreak in Shanghai shut the city down for weeks. [recommended ](https://video.sina.cn/finance/2022-12-11/detail-imxwiivm1986640.d.html?vt=4)the unproven method of rinsing out your mouth using iced salt water daily. After nearly three years of strict "zero-COVID" policies, in recent days Chinese officials have rolled back most of them following rare protests across the country.

If Beijing is expecting an immediate economic boost from abandoning its tough controls it is mistaken. There will be a growth dividend from the policy shift but ...

But ultimately, relaxing Covid restrictions will release the handbrake that has been holding back activity and allow for better transmission of existing policy support.” Activity will only fully recover in the early spring. [world’s biggest exporter](https://oec.world/en/profile/country/chn) of goods, the implications are obvious. “For the economy, reopening has so far been entirely negative,” he says. Subway use in Beijing, where the increase in cases has been sharpest, is running at 20% of pre-pandemic levels. Almost every country that has moved away from lockdowns to a “we have to learn to live with Covid” approach has suffered an exit wave of rising infections, and China is following the same pattern.

The chief medical officer has appealed to people to stay at home if they have flu-like symptoms and to return to wearing masks on public transport.

And it's really at that level," she added. "If people have symptoms, it's really important to stay home. "One thing I think we can improve on is wearing masks on public transport. And that's the way we want our society to be an open, free-moving society. Currently, we have 624 people in hospital with Covid, a week ago that was 430. "It's really important that if people have any of the respiratory symptoms, that is a new onset, that you stay at home until they substantially resolve and that will really help prevent the onward transmission.

China has been experiencing a surge in Covid cases after restrictions were eased earlier this month.

However, less than half of people aged 80 and over have received three doses of vaccine. [struggle to cope with the latest Covid surge](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-63944861). Official figures show a relatively low number of new daily cases and deaths. Overall, China says more than 90% of its population has been fully vaccinated. This must be confirmed in a scan. This is equal to only three Covid deaths in every million in China, compared with 3,000 per million in the US and 2,400 per million in the UK.