China’s top medical adviser says omicron’s risks just same as flu

Bloomberg

Chinese officials continued to downplay the risks of Covid-19 as restrictions are eased, with a top medical adviser saying the fatality rate from the omicron variant of the virus is in line with influenza.
The death rate from omicron is around 0.1%, similar to the common flu, and the infection rarely reaches the lungs, Zhong Nanshan was quoted in an interview with state news agency
Xinhua. Most people recover from the variant within seven to 10 days, he said.
Zhong’s comments follow the government’s latest line on the coronavirus, which talks down the disease’s dangers as China moves towards exiting its Covid Zero policy.
There’s an “urgent need” to increase booster-shot rates as travel during upcoming holidays will raise the risk of a large-scale spread, Zhong was quoted as saying.
“It’s unlikely people will stay put for the 2023 Lunar New Year holiday so I advise those who will travel home to get booster shots so that even if they are infected, symptoms will be mild,” he said.
The Lunar New Year holiday runs from January 21 to January 27 but usually lasts about 40 days as people take off before and after the official break. Hundreds of millions of Chinese return to their home provinces for family reunifications during New Year.
China issued a plan to enhance capacity of county-level medical facilities to better protect people living in rural areas from Covid. It requested such hospitals to boost their intensive care unit capacity by the end of December. Medical staffers from pediatrics and other units need to receive training on how to look after patients in ICU, according to the plan. These new measures will pave the way for China to further optimize Covid controls in the future and eventually claim victory over the outbreak, the commentary said.