Is Covid going to return in China? Alert issued after increase in viral cases

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese CDC) shows a total of 209 new severe COVID-19 cases and 24 deaths caused by COVID-19 nationwide in October, all of which The prevalent strains are the XBB variant, official media reported on Monday. China’s leading respiratory disease expert, Zhong Nanshan, warned of a COVID-19 surge in winter and urged elderly and vulnerable populations to get vaccinated as soon as possible, according to the state-run Global Times.

The coronavirus that first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019 turned into a massive pandemic that has killed millions of people across the world, while affecting the health of millions more. China has consistently denied allegations that the virus that shook the world was leaked from a bio-lab in Wuhan. While the world grappled with rapidly emerging variants of the coronavirus, China isolated itself from the rest of the world by imposing restrictions or banning flights from abroad.

China resorted to periodic shutdowns in various cities, including Shanghai, severely affecting its economy. As a result, the world’s second largest country is still in recession despite various efforts by the government to revive it. As winter approaches, in addition to the risk of COVID-19 infection, there have been higher incidences of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) and influenza in recent weeks, and a number of respiratory pathogens may be at risk until next spring, the CDC said. Caution has been issued about mixed infection. The Global Times report said.