COVID-19 Could Take 2 Years to Contain, Expert Warns

Femi Ashekun/

A leading doctor in China has predicted that the coronavirus pandemic could take ‘about two years’ to be brought under control, DailyMail reports.

Dr Zhang Wenhong, who led the fight against COVID-19 in Shanghai, reportedly made the statement on Sunday while giving a speech at Fudan University.

Zhang, 50, said he believed that “the transmission chain of the virus is actually difficult to stop now”.

The disease control expert has also warned that the virus outbreak, which has killed at least 610,000 people worldwide, has yet to reach its peak.

He reportedly told the audience, “It is still in the process of continuously spreading, therefore the peak of the pandemic has not arrived by now.”

Zhang’s claims come as China has recorded a new wave of coronavirus cases as both Xinjiang and Hong Kong are grappling with fresh health crises.

Xinjiang, home to most of China’s Uighur ethnic minority, has reported a total of 55 confirmed infections in two cities after a new COVID-19 outbreak erupted in its regional capital of Urumqi last week.

Hong Kong is bracing what its leader called an ‘out of control’ surge of cases after registering over 100 cases on Sunday, the highest single-day total recorded since the pandemic began.

Meanwhile, the deadly disease that emerged in Wuhan last year has infected more than 14 million people around the world and claimed at least 610,000 deaths.

The news come as China is relaxing many restrictions while maintaining mask wearing, temperature checks and social distancing.  

Following months of closure, limited numbers of movie goers were allowed back into cinemas yesterday in cities such as Shanghai, Hanzhou and Guilin where the risk of virus infection is considered low.

Economic activity has also gradually recovered in the country as China has reported an unexpectedly strong 3.2% expansion in its GDP during the latest quarter after lockdowns were lifted while factories and stores reopened.

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