Covid-19 resurgence – 10% of global population infected in next 90 days says expert, Indian states prepare for impact

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According to epidemiologist and health economist Eric Feigl-Ding, China and the rest of the world are facing a new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the next three months that is likely to result in millions of deaths. Feigl-Ding estimates that at least 10% of the global population, and 60% of China’s population, will be infected by the virus. This prediction is based on the current surge in Covid cases in China, which has seen a loosening of pandemic restrictions and an underreporting of the number of deaths.

“Hospitals completely overwhelmed in China ever since restrictions dropped. Epidemiologist estimate >60% of 🇨🇳 & 10% of Earth’s population likely infected over next 90 days. Deaths likely in the millions—plural. This is just the start” tweeted by Feigl-Ding.

The situation in China is already causing concern, with one of Beijing’s designated crematoria for Covid-19 patients reportedly being overwhelmed by the number of dead bodies. The country’s National Health Commission has reported a total of 380,453 confirmed cases and 5,237 deaths in 31 provinces, with 339,885 patients having been cured and discharged from hospital. However, the scale of the surge in cases is difficult to measure due to the easing of testing requirements.

The Indian government and several state governments have taken steps to increase Covid-19 testing and checks after four cases of the highly contagious Omicron sub-variant, which has driven a recent surge in Covid cases in China, were found in the country. New guidelines are being issued and people have been advised to take a precautionary dose of the Covid vaccine if they have not yet done so.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will review the Covid situation in India in a meeting today. Several states, including Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, and Odisha, are taking additional measures to prepare for any potential future surge in cases and to track the spread of Covid variants. There has been a recent spike in Covid cases in China, Japan, South Korea, France, and the United States, and a total of 10 different variants of Covid have been detected in India, with the Omicron sub-variant BF.7 being the latest.