-level officials, according to the Financial Times. The figure, which accounts for 18% of the population, includes 37 million people who were infected on Tuesday alone.
Sun reported that the rate of infection continues to rise and that more than half the population of Beijing and Sichuan have already been infected, two people familiar with the matter said.Beijing abruptly dropped its "zero-COVID" policy, which mandated lockdowns and widespread testing when even just a few cases had been detected.
Many had deemed the policies too restrictive and potentially contributing to the deaths of at least 10 people in a high-rise apartment building fire. CHINA GRAPPLES WITH MASSIVE COVID WAVE WITH FULL EMERGENCY WARDS AND CROWDED CREMATORIUMS: ‘MANY PEOPLE DYING’People wait for medical attention at Fever Clinic area in Tongren Hospital in the Changning district in Shanghai, on December 23, 2022 - China is battling a wave of coronavirus infections that has hit the elderly hard but resulted in only a handful o The deaths prompted nationwide protests and a demand for the government to end the policy, which Beijing agreed to do – but the sudden change and lack of preparation, including inadequate vaccination levels, led to a surge in the infection rate.
Washington and the World Health Organization have pushed Beijing for greater transparency regarding case numbers, disease severity and other health numbers.