China says critical COVID-19 cases have peaked as holiday travel surges

The number of COVID-19 patients needing critical care in China's hospitals has peaked, health authorities said on Thursday, as millions travelled across the country for long-awaited reunions with families ahead of the holidays, raising fears of fresh outbreaks.

Infections are expected to surge in rural areas during the Lunar New Year holidays, which officially start on Saturday. But a National Health Commission official told a news conference on Thursday that China has passed the peak period of COVID-19 patients with critical conditions.

The number of patients with critical conditions in the hospital was more than 40 per cent lower on Jan. 17 than a peak seen on Jan. 5, the official said.

The fresh data comes after President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that he was particularly concerned about China's COVID-19 wave spreading to rural areas with poor medical facilities, but he urged perseverance in stressful times, saying "light is ahead.”

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