Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, pointed out there were likely billions of omicron infections worldwide this year, but no new Covid variant has emerged, only subvariants of omicron. “That’s why I would put the risk as quite low that there is a dangerous new variant in China,” he said. The U.S., Japan and a few other countries this week subsequently announced new Covid testing requirements for travelers from China. China’s National Health Commission said Sunday it would stop releasing daily information on Covid infections and deaths. Covid testing is no longer mandatory in China.

---