GZ is expected to return to pre-epidemic by first half 2023

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The first wave of COVID-19 infections in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, is likely to peak between mid-early January and mid-February in 2023, and t local society will return to pre-epidemic conditions in the first half of 2023, China's top respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan said on Friday.

The senior health official and his team made the judgment during an interview on Friday, during which he also mentioned that the focus moving forward should be put on preventing severe illness caused by the virus, and strengthening the COVID-19 vaccination.

It usually takes two weeks for booster shots to work, which will be of great benefit in preventing large-scale transmission during the Spring Festival travel rush when large numbers of people travel between parts of the country. There is an urgent need to scale up vaccination across the country, Zhong added.

Omicron is not scary, as about 99 percent of those infected with the virus can fully recover within seven to 10 days, Zhong noted. He added that an analysis of data from major cities in China has found that the severity rate of the Omicron variant was less than 1 percent and the fatality rate less than 0.1 percent indicating that Omicron's pathogenicity has been significantly reduced.

Renowned Chinese epidemiologist Li Lanjuan echoed the Zhong's opinion, saying there is no need to panic over Omicron. Both Li and Zhong believed that asymptomatic infection is not a disease, and silent carriers are not patients.

Zhong said that the COVID-19 epidemic is not over yet, but he stressed that the pathogenicity of the Omicron variant has been greatly reduced. "This is the trend of the future evolution of the coronavirus," he said.

Source:

Editor: CH

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