Easing curbs in 'Covid-zero regions' could cause 2m deaths in a year: China study

Published
0

Restoring normal population mobility to “Covid-zero regions” like China will cause some 2 million deaths in a year and the key to controlling the virus is developing vaccines that are better at preventing infection, Chinese researchers said.

China's “zero-Covid” restrictions, according to Reuters, have come under growing scrutiny in recent weeks as it hosts the Winter Olympics in Beijing while using sweeping restrictions to try to prevent the spread of the more infectious Omicron variant.

Chinese scientists and public health specialists have reiterated the need for maintaining stringent controls, saying the risks of transmission were too high and that mass infection would put intolerable pressure on the health system.

In this file photo, a medical worker in a protective suit collects a swab from a man during a mass nucleic acid testing in Huichuan district following new cases of Covid-19 in Zunyi, Guizhou province,
In this file photo, a medical worker in a protective suit collects a swab from a man during a mass nucleic acid testing in Huichuan district following new cases of Covid-19 in Zunyi, Guizhou province,

Opinion

Editorial

Fixing bond markets
Updated 01 Oct, 2026

Fixing bond markets

Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, retail investors, and eventually, foreign investors must become bigger participants in the market.
Call centre rackets
01 Oct, 2026

Call centre rackets

A NUMBER of recent raids conducted by the authorities in different cities point to the growing threat fraudulent ...
Homeward bound
01 Oct, 2026

Homeward bound

FIVE months after Somali pirates captured an oil tanker carrying a 19-member multinational crew, Somali maritime...
Kashmir unresolved
Updated 30 Sep, 2026

Kashmir unresolved

The just solution lies in India addressing the issue through a trilateral dialogue involving the legitimate representatives of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan.
Water shortage
30 Sep, 2026

Water shortage

THAT the country is entering the Rabi season with an anticipated water shortage of nearly 25pc, the lowest carryover...
Young hearts
30 Sep, 2026

Young hearts

THE observance may have passed, but the message of World Heart Day should not fade with it. The occasion is a useful...