Streets in major Chinese cities are eerily quiet as people stay home to protect themselves from a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Streets in major Chinese cities are eerily quiet as people stay home to protect themselves from a surge in COVID-19 cases.
China is currently in the first of an expected three waves of COVID cases this winter.
Cases could multiply across the country if people follow typical travel patterns of returning to their home areas in a mass transit movement for the Lunar New Year holiday next month.
China is also yet to officially report any COVID deaths since Dec. 7, when the country abruptly ended most restrictions.
As part of the easing of the zero-COVID curbs, mass testing for the virus has ended, casting doubt on whether officially reported case numbers can capture the full scale of the outbreak.
In Beijing, the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has already hit essential services.
Speaking at a conference in Beijing, the country’s chief epidemiologist said the current outbreak would peak this winter and run in three waves for about three months.
