[北京 １０日 ロイター] – China’s state-run media said on Wednesday that officials believed the novel coronavirus infection had already passed its peak in many parts of the country.
The Health Times, a Communist Party-affiliated media outlet, reported a decline in the number of cases in Beijing and several provinces.
An epidemic prevention and control official in Henan province said nearly 90 million people in the province of about 100 million had been infected with the coronavirus as of January 6.
The number of patients in medical institutions in the province peaked on December 19th. However, the number of severely ill patients remains high.
The number of infections in the city also peaked on December 20, according to Beijing city officials. In Chongqing, the number of cases peaked on the 20th and in Jiangsu on the 22nd.
Two cities in southern Guangdong, China’s manufacturing hub, peaked by the end of the year.
China has stopped reporting daily infections, and the daily death toll is hovering in the single digits. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has questioned the credibility of the figures.
The number of funerals in Japan is increasing, and medical institutions are being forced to respond. Some experts estimate that China’s coronavirus-related deaths have reached at least 1 million this year.
State media also criticized Pfizer Inc. for the price of a generic version of its coronavirus drug Paxlobide. The Global Times said in an editorial, “It is clear that US capital has already accumulated considerable wealth from the world through the sale of vaccines and medicines, and the US government has also cooperated.”
Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourra said on Thursday that the company was not in discussions with Chinese authorities about licensing a generic drug for paxlobide. However, they are still negotiating the price.