No need to be concerned about China’s Covid situation: Expert
December’s Covid wave in China, in contrast to much of the rest of the world, is affecting 1.4 billion people.
No deadly new Covid-19 type is likely to be spreading in China, said a Seattle-based expert. US health experts earlier issued a warning regarding the potential for a new Covid variant to emerge in China's widespread outbreak and how Beijing's lack of transparency could delay the identification of public health dangers.
Dr. Chris Murray, The director of a health research centre at the University of Washington, made the comments on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia". In 2022, there will probably be billions of omicron infections worldwide, but no new Covid variations, only omicron sub-variants, have appeared, according to Murray.
December’s Covid wave in China, in contrast to much of the rest of the world, is affecting 1.4 billion people, the majority of whom are contracting the disease for the first time. The local population has widespread access to only vaccines made in the country. Murray cautioned that the hypothesis that viruses adapt to keep their hosts alive applies over a very long timeframe, not just months or years.
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He has also said that, for a new variety to evolve and take the place of omicron, several extremely-unique qualities are required. Over a year ago, South Africa was where the variation was found for the first time. In comparison to when Covid initially appeared in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, Omicron is far more contagious but produces less severe sickness.
New Covid testing requirements for visitors from China were subsequently announced this week by the US, Japan, and a few other nations. If one were to be suggested, Murray argued that an outright travel restriction would be absurd. People need to be more open about what's occurring in China, Murray said.
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China's National Health Commission earlier said that it would discontinue publishing daily data on Covid infections and fatalities. Instead of thousands of infections, which people already know omicron causes, the first indication of a novel variety will really be a shift in the hospitalisation or death rate linked to Covid, according to Murray.
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