On Tuesday, the US made it clear that it is prepared to help China deal with its rapidly spreading Covid 19 surge. And it issued a caution with an unrestrained rise, there might have consequences for the world economy. According to some esteemed specialists and World Health Organization consultants, it is early to declare the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak to be over because a potentially disastrous wave is still expected to hit China. Their opinions reflect a change since China abandoned its Zero-Covid rule last week in response to an increase in infections and previously unheard-of massive protests.
According to projections, the dramatic course change might result in far more than a wild wave deaths in 2023 in the second-largest world economic system. With 1.4 billion people, China’s Zero-Covid policy kept infections and fatalities in check, but experts noted that the worldwide situation has changed due to laxer regulations.
COVID cases are going up across the country. But we have the tools, infrastructure, and know-how we need to manage this moment.
Today, we announced our Winter COVID-19 Preparedness Plan to ensure we stay ahead of increases in cases this winter. Take a look: pic.twitter.com/qULXMZYD4Z
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 15, 2022
The WHO group charged with providing guidelines on the state of the Covid 10 surge is chaired by Dutch Virologist Marion Koopmans. The dilemma is whether you should term it post-pandemic when it affects such a big region of the world and is just commencing another round. The epidemic is at a completely different stage now. However, the upcoming phase in China is a wild card. The WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated the end is in sight for the outbreak as recently as September. He told media in Geneva this past week that he hoped the situation would expire sometime in 2023.
In the second half of 2022, restrictions on Covid mainly were lifted as the possibility of harmful new virus varieties or increased attacks subsided. The maximum alert level classification for Covid has been in place since January 2020. However, Tedros’ earlier remarks raised expectations that the UN organization would shortly lift it. In late January, Koopmans, along with other members of the WHO advisory board, are expected to submit their proposal regarding the alert level. Tedros has the last say. He is not required to accept the committee’s advice.
Five more deaths were reported on Tuesday. There was a scramble to set up fever monitoring centers, and hospital beds, antivirus outlets across China as concern about Beijing’s surprising move to spread the virus globally grew. In addition to the dangers to China, several experts in international health have cautioned that allowing the virus to spread domestically could give it a chance to mutate, possibly producing a hazardous new version. But even though the depiction is imperfect because of the lack of sufficient information, statistics from China provided by the WHO and the virus database GISAID currently reveal that the strains spreading there are the worldwide dominating Omicron and its subsets.
Anti-lockdown Protests in Shanghai became More Intense as Covid 19 Surge Reached Historical Highs
From Xinjiang to Shanghai, Protests Grow in China over COVID Restriction… https://t.co/GI9GIgGLt5 via @YouTube
— JOHN VERA (@JOHNVERA2) December 18, 2022
Covid outbreak exposes risk at Shanghai hospital. The Covid 19 surge is predicted to extend until the end of January. Thus, hospitals must prioritize adding ICU beds, according to a respiratory specialist. Rare public demonstrations against China’s severe Covid lockdowns increased there, and the coronavirus cases rapidly rose, with close to 40,000 illnesses reported on Sunday. In a rare exhibition of rage, Chinese social media users and Twitter users chanted slogans against the president of China, Xi Jinping, and the Communist Party of China (CPC) during a major protest in Shanghai.
