Nearly 90 percent of China’s third-most populous province, Henan, is now infected with the COVID virus, according to a top health official’s Monday announcement.
As of January 6, Kan Quancheng, director of the health commission for central Henan province, reported that the infection rate was 89%.
With a population of around 99,4 million, the data indicate that 88,5 million Henan inhabitants have tested positive for COVID.
The 19th of December was the peak of visits to fever centers, just weeks after China eased its “zero-COVID” restrictions.
After that spike at the end of last month, the number of COVID cases “continuously declined,” Kan said during a press briefing on Monday.
Since the beginning of December, the central government of China has been sharing COVID data. However, the data from Henan is radically different. Since the conclusion of “zero-COVID,” according to officials, just 120,000 people out of 1.4 billion have been sick, and only 30 have died.
88,5 million residents have now tested positive for COVID-19, according to the available data.
China’s borders reopened on Sunday, marking the official end of the country’s “zero-COVID” regulations, which required quarantine of entering tourists.
In an effort to curb the current outbreak that is overwhelming China’s hospitals and cemeteries, many nations across the world are now seeking negative testing from visitors from China.
Especially as China prepares to celebrate the lunar new year later this month, when millions of residents are likely to leave cities and go to rural areas to see family, the number of COVID cases is anticipated to rise.
»Officials say 90% of Henan residents have COVID«