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The UN agency said China was heavily under-reporting deaths from COVID, although it is now providing more information on its outbreak. China's foreign ministry said the country's health officials have held five technical exchanges with the WHO over the past month and have been transparent. Concerns over data transparency were among the factors that prompted more than a dozen countries to demand pre-departure COVID tests from travellers arriving from China. Tensions escalated this week with South Korea and Japan, with China retaliating by suspending short-term visas for their nationals. Still, traffic data and other indicators have not yet fully recovered to levels of just a few months ago.

REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Chinese state media defended on Wednesday the retaliatory measures against South Korea and Japan over their COVID-19 travel curbs as "reasonable", while Chinese tourists decried Seoul's "insulting" treatment on social media. South Korea, Japan, the United States and more than a dozen other countries imposed at the start of the year requirements for pre-departure negative test results from visitors from China. 'INSULTING'Chinese social media anger mainly targeted South Korea, whose border measures are the strictest among the countries that announced new rules. Global Times reserved a separate article for South Korea, saying the measures made Chinese people suspicious that Seoul was putting up a "political show." Annual spending by Chinese tourists abroad reached $250 billion before the pandemic, with South Korea and Japan among the top shopping destinations.

The holiday, known before the pandemic as the world's largest annual migration of people, comes amid an escalating diplomatic spat over COVID curbs that saw Beijing introduce transit curbs for South Korean and Japanese nationals on Wednesday. The virus is spreading unchecked in China after Beijing abruptly began dismantling its previously tight curbs in early December following historic protests. Among them, South Korea and Japan have also limited flights and require tests on arrival, with passengers showing up as positive being sent to quarantine. COUNTING DEATHSSome of the governments that announced curbs on travellers from China cited concerns over Beijing's data transparency. Annual spending by Chinese tourists abroad reached $250 billion before the pandemic, with South Korea and Japan among the top shopping destinations.

Long queues formed at the Hong Kong international airport's check-in counters for flights to mainland cities including Beijing, Tianjin and Xiamen. Hong Kong media outlets estimated that thousands were crossing. Beijing has quotas on the number of people who can travel between Hong Kong and China each day. I'm thrilled, I can't believe it’s happening,” said a businesswoman surnamed Shen, 55, who flew in from Hong Kong. The World Health Organisation said on Wednesday that China's COVID data underrepresents the number of hospitalisations and deaths from the disease.

☆ China reports three COVID deaths for January 6
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI, Jan 7 (Reuters) - China reported three new COVID-19 deaths in the mainland for Jan. 6, compared with five deaths a day earlier, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday. The official death toll now stands at 5,267. Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ WHO says China releases COVID hospital data after reporting gap
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization received data from China on new COVID-19 hospitalisations after a reporting gap, with figures on Thursday showing a nearly 50% increase in the week to Jan. 1. The WHO's latest report showed 22,416 new hospitalisations for mainland China in the week to Jan. 1 versus 15,161 the previous week. Over the same week, the report showed China had 218,019 new cases and 648 new deaths, although these figures typically include Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau as well as mainland China. The WHO did not release a report last week due to end of year holidays. The body is preparing to meet Chinese scientists on Thursday as part of a wider briefing among member states on the global COVID-19 situation as concerns grow about the rapid spread of the virus in the world's No.

☆ XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant is the most transmissible version of Covid yet, WHO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant that's currently dominating the U.S. is the most contagious version of Covid-19 yet, but it doesn't appear to make people sicker, according to the World Health Organization. "It is the most transmissible subvariant that has been detected yet," Van Kerkhove told reporters during a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday. It has been detected in 29 countries so far but it could be even more widespread, Van Kerkhove said. The WHO's advisory group that tracks Covid variants is conducting a risk assessment on XBB.1.5 that it will publish in the coming days, she said. "The more this virus circulates the more opportunities it will have to change," Van Kerkhove said.

☆ Leading WHO advisers call for 'realistic' COVID data from China at key meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Jennifer Rigby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The World Health Organization logo is pictured at the entrance of the WHO building, in Geneva, Switzerland, December 20, 2021. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseLONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Leading scientists advising the World Health Organization said they wanted a "more realistic picture" about the COVID-19 situation from China's top experts at a key meeting on Tuesday as worries grow about the rapid spread of the virus. The WHO has invited Chinese scientists to a virtual closed meeting with its technical advisory group on viral evolution on Tuesday, to present data on which variants are circulating in the country. Speaking to Reuters ahead of the meeting, she said some of the data from China, such as hospitalisation numbers, is "not very credible". A WHO spokesperson said that a "detailed discussion" was expected about circulating variants in China, and globally, with Chinese scientists expected to make a presentation.

REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING/WUHAN, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Some people in China's key cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan braved the cold and a spike in COVID-19 infections to return to regular activity on Monday, confident of a boost to the economy as more recover from infections. But Monday's one new COVID death - flat with the previous day - among China's population of 1.4 billion does not match the experience of other countries after they re-opened. Cumulative deaths in China since Dec. 1 have probably reached 100,000, with infections at 18.6 million, it said. Airfinity expects China's COVID infections to reach their first peak on Jan. 13, with 3.7 million daily infections. China has said it only counts deaths of COVID patients caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as COVID-related.

☆ Chinese state media seek to reassure public over COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WUHAN, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Thousands of Chinese took to the streets to mark the New Year as authorities and state media sought to reassure the public that the COVID-19 outbreak sweeping across the country was under control and nearing its peak. China reported one new COVID-19 death in the mainland for Dec. 31, the same as a day earlier, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday. State media in the city of Guangzhou in southeastern China said on Sunday that daily cases peaked at around 60,000 recently, and now stand at around 19,000. On Sunday, Australia and Canada joined the United States and others in requiring travellers from China to provide negative COVID-19 tests when they arrive. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen offered on Sunday to provide China with "necessary assistance" to help it deal with the surge in COVID-19 cases.

☆ Mainland China reports one COVID death for Dec 30
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Dec 31 (Reuters) - China reported one new COVID-19 death in the mainland for Dec. 30, compared with one death a day earlier, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday. The death toll has risen to 5,248. Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The CDC is considering testing airline poop and toilet waste for COVID-19 as anxieties rise about China's virus spread
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The US is considering testing airline wastewater for COVID-19 to track the virus. Wastewater tests showed the presence of COVID-19 variants up to two weeks before people tested positive using nasal swabs. Three infectious disease experts told Reuters that testing wastewater collected on airplanes would be more effective at tracking the virus than testing travelers on entry. According to the South China Morning Post, the Malaysian government has announced that they will start screening toilet water on flights from China to track the virus. They will not, however, be testing travelers upon arrival to Malaysia.

☆ Risk of a dangerous new Covid variant in China is ‘quite low,’ U.S. health expert says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | Evelyn Cheng Is A Senior Correspondent With Cnbc. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

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.

☆ COVID travel curbs against Chinese visitors 'discriminatory' -state media
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Bernard Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Global spending by Chinese visitors was worth more than $250 billion a year before the pandemic. China's official death toll of 5,247 since the pandemic began compares with more than 1 million deaths in the United States. UK-based health data firm Airfinity said on Thursday around 9,000 people in China are probably dying each day from COVID. Airfinity expects China's COVID infections to reach their first peak on Jan. 13, with 3.7 million cases a day. China has said it only counts deaths of COVID patients caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as COVID-related.

☆ China COVID deaths accelerate to 9,000 a day - UK research firm Airfinity
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Cumulative deaths in China since Dec. 1 likely reached 100,000 with infections totalling 18.6 million, Airfinity said in a statement. Airfinity expects China's COVID infections to reach their first peak on Jan. 13 with 3.7 million cases a day. Airfinity expects deaths to peak on Jan. 23 around 25,000 a day, with cumulative deaths reaching 584,000 since December. Since Dec. 7 when China made its abrupt policy U-turn, authorities have reported 10 COVID deaths. Airfinity expects 1.7 million deaths across China by the end of April, according to its statement.

☆ 'The ICU is full': medical staff on frontline of China's COVID fight say hospitals are 'overwhelmed'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Bernstein's account reflects similar testimony from medical staff across China who are scrambling to cope after China's abrupt U-turn on its previously strict COVID policies this month was followed by a nationwide wave of infections. "The hospital is just overwhelmed from top to bottom," Bernstein told Reuters at the end of a "stressful" shift at the privately owned Beijing United Family Hospital in the east of the capital. In the past month, Bernstein went from never having treated a COVID patient to seeing dozens a day. Elsewhere in China, medical staff told Reuters that resources are already stretched to the breaking point in some cases, as COVID and sickness levels amongst staff have been particularly high. The National Health Commission did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the concerns raised by medical staff in this article.

[1/3] An empty road is pictured at Shanghai Central Business District (CBD) as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks continue in Shanghai, China, December 23, 2022. Subway trains in Beijing and Shanghai were packed, while some major traffic arteries in the two cities jammed with slow-moving cars on Monday as residents commuted to work. An annual Christmas market held at the Bund, a commercial area in Shanghai, was also crowded over the weekend. Crowds thronged the winter festive season at Shanghai Disneyland and Beijing's Universal Studios on Sunday, queuing up for rides in Christmas-themed outfits. The city of Qingdao, in the eastern Shandong province, has estimated that up to 530,000 residents were being infected each day.

☆ Mainland China reports no new COVID deaths for Dec 25 -China CDC
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Dec 26 (Reuters) - China reported no new COVID-19 deaths in mainland for Dec. 25, the same a day earlier, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday. Deaths in China stand at 5,241. Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China Stops Issuing Daily Covid Data Ahead of Outbreak’s Peak
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Selina Cheng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—China’s central health authority has stopped publishing daily Covid-19 data, ending a three-year effort that has drawn mounting criticism for massively underreporting the surge in infections now sweeping the country. In a one-line announcement Sunday, China’s National Health Commission said it would no longer issue its daily report on Covid infections and deaths. Relevant Covid information will instead be published by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for reference and research, it said, without giving any further information.

☆ China health commission stops publishing daily COVID figures
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Despite the record surge of infections, the NHC had reported no COVID deaths nationwide for four consecutive days before halting the data release. China narrowed its definition for reporting COVID deaths, counting only those from COVID-caused pneumonia or respiratory failure, raising eyebrows among world health experts. British-based health data firm Airfinity last week estimated China was experiencing more than a million infections and 5,000 deaths a day. After COVID cases were breaking daily records in late November, the NHC this month stopped reporting asymptomatic infections, making it harder to track cases. The World Health Organization has received no data from China on new COVID hospitalisations since Beijing eased its restrictions.

☆ China's National Health Commission to stop publishing daily COVID figures
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Dec 25 (Reuters) - China's National Health Commission, which for the past three years or so has published daily COVID-19 case figures for the country, said it will no longer release such data from Sunday. "Relevant COVID information will be published by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for reference and research," the NHC said in a statement, without specifying the reasons for the change or how frequently China CDC will update COVID information. Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Bernard Orr; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's National Health Commission to stop publishing daily Covid figures
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

People line up outside a fever clinic in Beijing on Dec. 14, 2022, just days after the country relaxed its Covid controls amid below-freezing weather in the capital city. China's National Health Commission, which for the past three years or so has published daily Covid-19 case figures for the country, said it will no longer release such data from Sunday. "Relevant COVID information will be published by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for reference and research," the NHC said in a statement, without specifying the reasons for the change or how frequently China CDC will update COVID information.

☆ 'I don't trust it:' Vaccine hesitancy lingers even as China COVID cases surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"I don't trust it," she said, speaking on the condition that only her first name be used. It has also yet to introduce its own version of an mRNA vaccine. "At least a half of doctors and educated people wanted to get the mRNA ones and refused to get the Chinese ones," Lei said. "After a while, people see no hope and also they are kind of forced to get the Chinese ones, so they had to accept it. Lei said many of her friends are looking to visit the neighbouring Chinese territory of Macau, where mainlanders can receive mRNA vaccines.

☆ China's cities battle first wave of COVID surge as wider spread looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

China is currently in the first of an expected three waves of COVID cases this winter, according to the country's chief epidemiologist, Wu Zunyou. China reported some 2,097 new symptomatic COVID infections on Dec. 17. In Beijing, the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has already hit services from catering to parcel deliveries. A third wave of cases would run from late February to mid-March as people returned to work after the holiday, Wu said. He said those in the community that are vulnerable should be protected, while recommending booster vaccines for the general public.

☆ 'Significant storm' to batter west with high winds and heavy snow forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Leila Sackur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A "significant winter storm" will dump heavy snow and make travel dangerous as it makes its way across the west of the country over the weekend, forecasters warned early Saturday. “High winds, heavy snow and heavy precipitation will reach the Pacific Northwest today, then impact California,” the National Weather Service said in a bulletin. More than 5 feet of snow is expected in the Sierra Nevada, resulting in “extremely dangerous travel, especially across mountain passes,” it added. “A winter storm with gale force winds, high intensity snowfall and feet of new snow accumulation may result in widespread avalanche activity in the mountains,” the Forest Service Sierra Avalanche Center said Friday. Elsewhere 1-3 feet of snow are expected across mountain ranges of the west coast, the NWS said.

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