5.22 Lakh new COVID-19 cases, 1 death reported in China in July amid cyclical surge
China reported 5,22,000 new COVID-19 cases in July, including 487 severe cases and one death, as infection numbers continued to fluctuate upward.
5.22 Lakh new COVID-19 cases, 1 death reported in China in July amid cyclical surge | Image: AI
5.22 Lakh New COVID-19 Cases: China reported 5,22,000 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in July, including 487 severe cases and one death. According to China's national disease control authority, infections are showing a fluctuating upward trend. The fresh upward trend in infection represents a regular cyclical wave and the severity is comparable to the surges witnessed in the past two years. However, the growth rate has slowed down as the outbreak reaches its peak.
Omicron Substrain Dominates As Experts Expect Cases To Peak By Late August
According to CDC, all the tested infection samples were the Omicron variant. NB.1.8.1 strain and its sublineages are responsible for the majority of circulating cases. A Beijing-based respiratory disease specialist told Global Times that the country is witnessing a mild rise in cases due to weakening immunity, new mutations, and summer travel. However, the virus isn't becoming more severe and cases are expected to drop by late August.
According to surveillance data from China's 1,041 monitoring hospitals, flu-like illnesses among emergency and outpatient visits slightly increased in the past five weeks, hovering between 4.3 percent and 4.5 percent.
During the same period, the COVID positivity rate in patients with influenza-like illness in the outpatient setting increased for weeks.
Experts Said Waning Immunity And New Mutations Drove July COVID-19 Rise
July COVID-19 Surge: What Experts Say?
An expert told the Global Times that the surge in July was due to waning immunity as the majority of people had their last infection over six months ago - and new virus mutations that bypass existing antibody protection.
The factors, combined with a sudden surge in travel and population mobility during the summer vacation, are the reason for the recent small-scale surge. If we follow the patterns of recent years, COVID-19 infections tend to rise every six to eight months as population immunity declines.
According to the expert, as the covid virus continues to mutate, there is no evidence that it has become more pathogenic. Clinical data reported that the majority of patients develop mild symptoms, with very few infected to pneumonia or requiring hospitalization.
On Thursday, the Chinese CDC said that COVID-19 is now a routine seasonal illness in the country which causes one or two predictable nationwide surges every year since its status was downgraded.
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