In response to an increase in COVID-19 cases nearly three years after the pandemic’s inception, the largest metropolis in China has instructed its schools to resume online instruction.
After 2,286 symptomatic coronavirus cases were confirmed on China’s mainland on Friday, Shanghai’s education department stated on Saturday that in-person lessons will begin next week to be held online.
According to the agency, daycare centers and nurseries will also close on Monday.
The increase in cases occurred after China began easing its COVID-19 regulations, which were among the tightest in the world, earlier this month. The decision to abandon the “Zero-Covid” policy was made in response to widespread protests caused by a fatal apartment fire in Urumqi.
China no longer registers asymptomatic cases and has abandoned its PCR testing protocol; hence, the full magnitude of the outbreak is unknown.
Since December 4, China has not recorded a single death; yet, others claim that fatalities are on the rise and may spike in the next year. According to reports, funeral houses in Beijing are busier than usual and trying to keep up with demand as an increasing number of personnel test positive for the coronavirus.
According to a study by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluations in the United States, the number of deaths in China could surpass one million in 2023.
Christopher Murray, the director of the department, predicted that by April 1 the number of deaths will exceed 322,000.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, China has reported only 5,235 deaths; however, Murray suggests that the number of deaths in China has been underreported.
Since the initial Wuhan outbreak, China has reported few deaths. “We looked to Hong Kong to get a sense of the infection fatality rate,” Murray explained on Friday.
In comparison, the United Kingdom and Italy have both reported more than 180,000 deaths. More than 1,1 million Americans have perished as a result of the illness.
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