Almost 90% of the residents of China's third most populous province are infected with COVID-19, AFP reported, citing a senior Chinese official.

It comes a day after China lifted travel restrictions requiring mandatory quarantine after returning from abroad and reports of heightened demand for tickets and congestion at borders.

The director of the Henan Central Provincial Health Commission, said at a press conference that "as of January 6, 2023, the infection rate of COVID-19 in the province, which is located in the central part of eastern China, is 89%."

With a population of 99.4 million, the numbers suggest that around 88.5 million people in Henan may have been infected.

Visits to fever clinics peaked on Dec. 19, the director said, "and then showed a continuous downward trend."

China has been grappling with a surge in cases since its decision last month to scrap its zero-Covid policy, which called for mass testing and the closure of large communities when even single cases of infection are detected. After its three-year implementation, it caused mass protests in major cities, and in early December, the authorities canceled it.

After the spread of the epidemic in China and due to the lack of sufficient data on its development, the EU decided to introduce mandatory testing of passengers arriving from China and strengthened controls at airports. Most European countries already apply the restrictions.

For now, Bulgaria does not follow the EU's coordinated approach, as the Ministry of Health has only issued recommendations that operators can apply at their discretion.

Follow Novinite.com on Twitter and Facebook

Write to us at editors@novinite.com

Информирайте се на Български - Novinite.bg

/Dnevnik

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!