Experts notify that China’s rising Covid cases aggravate the risk of new variants
By Adeyemi Adekunle
An explosion of Covid-19 cases in China as the country lifts its zero-Covid measures could create a “potential breeding ground” for new variants to emerge, health experts warn.
China announced this week that incoming travelers would no longer have to quarantine from January 8, the latest major reversal of strict restrictions that have kept the country largely closed off to the world since the start of the pandemic.
While the country’s National Health Commission has halted issuing daily case numbers, officials in several cities estimate that hundreds of thousands of people have been infected in recent weeks. Hospitals and crematoriums have been overwhelmed across the country.
With the virus now able to spread among nearly one-fifth of the world’s population—almost all of whom lack immunity from the previous infection and many of whom remain unvaccinated—other nations and experts fear China will become fertile ground for new variants.
In reaction to the surging cases, the United States, Italy, Japan, India, and Malaysia had this week announced they would increase health measures for travelers from China.
The lack of transparent data from China—particularly about viral genomic sequencing—is making it “increasingly tough for public health officials to ensure that they will be able to recognize any potential new variants and take prompt criteria to reduce the spread”, US officials said Tuesday.
India and Japan have already said they will compel compulsory PCR testing on all passengers from China, a model Flahault said could be a way around any delays in information from Beijing.
A Nigerian trained investigative journalist, who cover various news beats in Nigeria.
