Beijing, January 23: Chinese health authorities have said that more than 12,000 hospitalized people infected with COVID-19 died in seven days through Thursday, NHK World-Japan reported.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday that 12,658 patients had died in medical institutions between January 13 and 19. According to officials, 681 people died of respiratory failure and 11,977 others died of complications, according to NHK World-Japan report. It is the first time that the Chinese government has updated official death counts in seven days. Chinese Health Expert Claims 80 Pc of People Infected with COVID-19 in Country: Report.

Meanwhile, Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention has claimed that about 80 per cent of China's population has been infected with COVID-19, which is nearly eight in 10 people, CNN reported. Wu Zunyou has claimed that the present "wave of the epidemic has already infected about 80 per cent of the people" in the country of 1.4 billion population.

Wu Zunyou's claim comes amid concerns that the travel rush that takes place around the Lunar New Year holiday time could spread the virus to the countryside and lead to a second wave of infections.

Speaking on his personal social media account, Wu claimed that the scenario was unlikely as many people in China have already been infected with COVID-19. Wu claimed that the possibility of a large-scale COVID-19 rebound is very small in China, as per the news report.

"In the next two to three months, the possibility of a large-scale Covid-19 rebound or a second wave of infections across the country is very small," CNN quoted Wu Zunyou as saying.

More than 26 million passenger trips were taken on the eve of the Lunar New Year, CNN reported citing Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. Over 4.1 million people travelled by train and 756,000 people travelled by air for holiday reunions on the day prior to the start of the Lunar New Year, as per the news report. Death Toll from the Current COVID Wave in China Rises to at Least 72,596 Since December 8..

Nearly 60,000 people infected with COVID-19 died in Chinese hospitals between December 8 and January 12 after Beijing abruptly ended its "zero-Covid" policy, CNN reported citing government data. Notably, China adhered to stringent lockdowns, travel restrictions and mass testing to control the spread of COVID-19.

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