Around 100 mn Covid cases, 1 mn deaths in China: Expert

China grapples with its first-ever national Covid-19 wave. Health experts are expecting approximately 100 million Covid cases and one million deaths in China amid the recent rise in infections, according to the news agency ANI.

Dr. Neeraj Kumar Gupta, HOD of Pulmonary Medicine at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital said, "Based on mathematical calculations, we expect close to 100 million Covid cases in China, five million admissions and one million deaths, which is a huge number."

He said that China is at the same stage as India was earlier but India is now well-experienced in fighting the virus. According to him, Chinese citizens have low immunity due to the country's strict lockdown strategies.

"We faced the first wave, the second wave of a much serious delta variant, and the third wave of the Omicron variant which was not that serious but very infectious," Dr. Gupta told ANI.

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also took note of the rising Covid cases globally and said that the Centre and States need to work in "tandem" and in a "collaborative spirit" as was done during the previous surges.

He chaired a virtual meeting on Friday with the health ministers of the states, Principal Secretaries, Additional Chief Secretaries, and Information Commissioners, to review the Covid-19 situation in the country.

The minister asserted that the country needs to be on the alert and be fully prepared for Covid management.

The meeting was held in view of the recent upsurge in cases in some countries like China, Japan, Brazil, and the United States in the presence of Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar, NITI Aayog member V K Paul to review the public health preparedness for containment and management of Covid-19 and progress of national Covid vaccination campaign.

Almost 250 million people in China may have been affected by Covid-19 in just 20 days after the zero-covid policy was diluted in the first week of the month, according to Radio Free Asia citing leaked government documents circulating on social media.

In the 20-minute meeting of China's National Health Commission, as per the leaked document look like, 248 million people were infected with Covid-19 from December 1 to 20, or 17.65 percent of China's population.

However, as per Radio Free Asia, the data on covid cases released by government officials on December 20 is different from the reality as nearly 37 million were estimated.

(With ANI inputs)