China's National Health Commission To Stop Publishing Daily Covid Figures Amid Fresh Surge In Cases

The National Health Commission of China said in a statement that it will no longer release daily Covid-19 case figures from Sunday amid a massive surge in infections in the country.

Covid cases surge in China

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New Delhi: The National Health Commission (NHC) of China, which published daily Covid-19 case figures for the past three years or more for the country, said that it will no longer release such data from Sunday amid a massive surge in infections in the country, Reuters reported.

"Relevant COVID information will be published by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for reference and research," the NHC said in a statement, without specifying the reasons for the change or how frequently China CDC would update Covid data.

Meanwhile, the authorities in Shanghai have urged its residents to stay at home this weekend during Christmas, seeking a toned-down Christmas in the nation's most populous city as Covid-19 surged after restrictions were lifted, as reported by the news agency Reuters.

According to the report, Shanghai typically hosts a large Christmas-themed market in a luxury shopping area along Nanjing West Road, and restaurants and retailers offer promotions to drum up business. But the spread of Omicron played a spoilsport in this year’s celebrations.

Many Shanghai restaurants have canceled Christmas parties normally held for regulars, while hotels have capped reservations due to staff shortages, said Jacqueline Mocatta, who works in the hospitality industry, as reported by Reuters. "There's only a certain amount of customers we can accept given our manpower, with a majority of team members who are unwell at the moment," Reuters quoted Mocatta as saying.

Weeks after Chinese authorities ended their zero-Covid policy and lifted strict testing requirements, the Omicron variant surged in the country with hospitals scrambling for beds and blood, pharmacies for drugs, and authorities racing to build clinics.

People lamented on social media that they would stay inside as most of their friends have tested positive for Covid. "I originally planned to go to Shanghai for Christmas but now I can only lie in bed," a person wrote on Weibo, China's Twitter-like social network.

Infections in China are likely more than a million a day with deaths at more than 5,000 a day, in "stark contrast" to official data, Reuters reported citing British-based health data firm Airfinity. China's national health authority on Saturday reported 4,128 daily symptomatic Covid-19 infections and no deaths for a fourth consecutive day.

(With inputs from Reuters)