China is likely recording 1 million Covid cases, 5,000 deaths a day: Report

China is most likely experiencing a whopping 1 million Covid infections and 5,000 virus-related deaths every day as the country of 1.4 billion people is experiencing the worst outbreak the world has ever seen, according to a new analysis 

This current Covid wave may see the country's daily case rate rise to 3.7 million in January, according to British scientific information and analytics company Airfinity, reported Bloomberg on Thursday. 

There’ll most likely be another surge of infections that will push the daily peak to 4.2 million in March, the group estimated.

China could see 1.3 million to 2.1 million people die if it lifts its zero-Covid policy due to low vaccination and booster rates as well as a lack of hybrid immunity, British scientific information and analytics company Airfinity said in late November.

The company said it modelled its data on Hong Kong's BA.1 wave in February, which occurred after the city eased restrictions after two years.

China reported no new Covid deaths for a second consecutive day for December 21, even as funeral parlour workers say demand has jumped in the past week, pushing fees higher.

Officially, China reported 2,966 new cases for Wednesday and there have been fewer than 10 Covid deaths since the beginning of December. China's official death count since the pandemic began three years ago stands at 5,241 - a fraction of what most other countries faced.

Meanwhile, a Shanghai hospital has told its staff to prepare for a "tragic battle" with COVID-19 as it expects half of the city's 25 million people to get infected by the end of the year while the virus sweeps through China largely unchecked, reported Reuters. 

After widespread protests and a relentless rise in cases, China this month took an abrupt shift in policies and began dismantling its "zero-COVID" regime, which has taken a great financial and psychological toll on its 1.4 billion people.

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