Residents across China tell The Epoch Times they believe their lived experience show it’s far more severe than what the official data indicate.
COVID-19 cases in China increased more than 160 percent in May, according to the latest official data from the Chinese communist regime. But Chinese residents across the country continue to report to The Epoch Times and on social media that they believe the situation is more serious than what authorities have acknowledged.
The Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) released its national COVID-19 epidemic data for May on June 5, reporting 440,662 cases, including 606 severe cases and seven deaths, soaring above April’s 168,507 cases, 340 severe cases, and nine deaths.
“The number of newly confirmed cases reported daily fluctuated up to the peak on May 26 and then fluctuated down,” the China CDC said, while identifying the main epidemic strain as NB.1.8.1—a sixth-generation sub-branch of the XDV Omicron variant.
Liu Qiyong, a researcher at the China CDC said at a National Health Commission press briefing on June 5 that the COVID-19 outbreak in China reached a peak in May but “is showing a downward trend in some provinces.”
Liu added that currently, clinical cases are mostly mild, and existing detection reagents and drugs are still effective.
Tang Jingyuan, a U.S.-based physician and current affairs commentator, told The Epoch Times on June 7 that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials are saying the outbreak is on a downward trend to avoid public panic.
“The data for June has not been released yet. I think their purpose of saying it is to avoid panic among the public that there will be a larger-scale outbreak this summer. This wave of epidemic is still developing, and it is difficult for us to draw the conclusion that this … has already reached its peak,” he said.
Tang was skeptical about the claim that the current testing and treatment drugs are effective against new virus strains.
“If a drug is effective against a disease, it means that it can be clearly shown by medical statistics to strictly control the disease. However, what we see now is that the COVID-19 epidemic has ushered in a wave of peaks in the summer,” he said.
By Alex Wu
