90% people Covid positive in China's third most populous province

A lmost 90 percent of people in China's third most populous province have now been positive with Covid-19, a top official said Monday, as the country battles a surge in cases.

The director of the health commission for central Henan province Kan Quancheng, told a press conference that as of January 6, 2023, the province's Covid infection rate is 89.0 percent.

The populous province has a population of 99.4 million people which implies that almost 88.5 million people in Henan reported to now Covid positive, as per the official.

Kan Quancheng further said that visits to clinics peaked mid-December after which it showed a continuous downward trend.

This comes as China abruptly lifted its stringent zero-Covid policy that was active since the pandemic began. The policy included lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing which resulted in massive protests across China. Beijing also lifted mandatory quarantine for all arrivals from outside the country and also opened its border with Hong Kong.