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COVID-19 Live Updates: China May See Over 36,000 Deaths Daily This Month, Experts Predict Future of COVID

According to a recent study by the data analytics company Airfinity, China may see nearly a staggering 36,000 deaths a day during the Lunar New Year holidays.

China May See Over 36,000 Deaths Daily This Month, Experts Predict Future of COVID

COVID-19 is here to stay, and every time there is a surge, it will be mostly dominated by one of the variants which can result from the continuous mutations in the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Currently, China is the worst-hit country which is seeing a massive resurgence of the virus infection due to the Omicron's BF.7 variant. Omicron is one of the most mutated versions of the virus and has several changes in its spike protein that enables it to evade vaccine-induced immunity.

Earlier this month, data revealed that the country saw millions of infections due to COVID-19 in the month of December 2022. The variant that triggered the surge is the BF.7. However, this is not it. According to a recent study by the data analytics company Airfinity, China may see nearly a staggering 36,000 deaths a day during the Lunar New Year holidays. The Lunar New Year festival in the country began on January 7 and the holidays are set to begin on January 21. In the study, the experts cautioned that a massive spike in death cases is expected to hit China post the holiday season.

Speaking to the media, Dr. Matt Linley, Airfinity's Analytics director said, "We now expect to see one larger and more prolonged wave with infections reaching a higher peak. Our forecast estimates a significant burden on China's healthcare system for the next fortnight and it is likely that many treatable patients could die due to overcrowded hospitals and lack of care."

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