China is bracing for a new wave of Covid infections that could see as many as 65 million cases per week by the time the wave peaks at the end of June.To get more news about china covid xbb variant, you can visit shine news official website.

It's a startling prediction in a country where the pandemic originated in late 2019, and which only months ago was enforcing some of the strictest Covid control protocols on the planet. Now, with the latest omicron variant, XBB, fuelling a resurgence in cases, the response from China's government and public is muted at best.

The surge comes about six months after the country dismantled its sprawling infrastructure for dealing with covid, including harsh lockdowns, mass testing, stifling quarantines and strict mask requirements.

"People feel different about this wave," said Qi Zhang, 30, who works at a finance company in the northern city of Tianjin. "Last time, everyone was scared, but now they don't think it's a big deal," she told NBC News on Thursday.
The data on the new wave was revealed by respiratory specialist Zhong Nanshan at a medical conference in the southern city of Guangzhou this week. According to state media, he told the audience that the wave, which began in late April, was "expected" and that his modelling suggested China could be approaching 40 million infections a week. By the end of June, he said, the weekly number of infections would peak at 65 million.

By comparison, the United States was reporting more than 5 million cases per week at its peak in January last year. Like the US, China stopped providing weekly case updates this month, making it difficult to know the true extent of the current outbreak.
The State Department said the US, which imposed a testing requirement on travellers from China in January before lifting it in March, was discussing China's second covidium wave with allies and partners, but declined to say whether travel restrictions were under consideration. Spokesman Matt Miller said the department would monitor the situation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before updating travel guidelines.

"We obviously don't want to see people anywhere suffering from Covid-19," Miller said on Wednesday. The US government remains committed to working with China "on transnational challenges, including global health issues, and maintaining open lines of communication," he added.

Various versions of the Omicron sub-variants, including XBB 1.5, XBB.1.16, also known as "Arcturus", and XBB.1.9.1, have been circulating in the US since December and account for nearly all of the current infections in the country. Although the CDC doesn't regularly track new cases, and the majority of new infections are likely uncounted, hospitalisations and deaths in the US continue to decline.