According to officials, China reached its peak of severe coronavirus infections just before the start of the Chinese New Year. The number of critically ill patients in hospitals on Jan. 17 was more than 40% below its Jan. 5 peak, a National Health Commission official said today.
The country thus surpassed the peak of the wave of seriously ill patients in fever clinics and emergency rooms. The country’s official coronavirus data is widely viewed with skepticism. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are some “very significant information gaps”.
Wave of CoV expected for the New Year
However, just the day before, President Xi Jinping had expressed concern that rural areas of the People’s Republic would not be able to cope with the expected rise in infections caused by the New Year holiday travel wave.
China celebrates the New Year of the Rabbit on Sunday night. Hundreds of millions of people traditionally travel to their hometowns for New Year celebrations. The train stations in Beijing and Shanghai were very crowded today with travelers who wanted to go home to their families in the country.