China’s Covid deaths expected to hit 36,000 a day during holiday

The Chinese New Year festival marked by millions of people returning home to reunite with their families fuels high levels of virus transmission. - AP

BEIJING (Bloomberg): China is likely to see 36,000 Covid deaths a day during the Lunar New Year holidays, making it one of the most deadly periods of the pandemic, according to an updated analysis of the largest outbreak the world has yet experienced.

The revised figures from the independent forecasting firm Airfinity Ltd. added 11,000 deaths a day to its Dec 29 estimate, a jump that shows the breathtaking pace of the outbreak and the lack of clear information about how it’s spreading in the world’s most populous nation.