China at Verge of New Wave of COVID Pandemic Fueled by XBB Variant

China is on the verge of a massive wave of COVID virus cases, reported Bloomberg reported citing a senior health adviser. This new wave of the COVID pandemic is expected to peak towards the end of June in China. As per experts, China is likely to report around 65 millions infections weekly at that time.

Since April China is experiencing a surge in Covid cases, fueled by Omicron variant XBB. XBB is a hybrid of Omicron’s BA.2.75 and BJ.1 sub-variants. It is believed that the XBB variant has a “growth advantage” over BA.2.75 and immune evasive properties.

By the end of May, China is likely to report 40 million infections in a week, before peaking at 65 million weekly by the end of June, as per local Chinese media reports that cited a presentation by respiratory disease specialist Zhong Nanshan at a biotech conference in the southern city of Guangzhou.

The new Covid outbreak could be the largest wave of infections since China scrapped its zero-Covid policy in December 2022. In the earlier wave, China had likely reported 37 million coronavirus cases in a day.