In an article on Tuesday, the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, cited several Chinese experts as saying that the illness caused by the virus was relatively mild for most people.
“Among the patients currently admitted to designated hospitals in Beijing, 3% to 4% have serious and critical illnesses,” Tong Zhaohui, vice president of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, told the newspaper.
Kang Yan, head of Sichuan University’s West China Tianfu Hospital, said a total of 46 critically ill patients have been admitted to intensive care units in the past three weeks, accounting for about 1% of symptomatic infections.
Local health officials said more than 80% of people living in southwestern Sichuan province have been infected.
The World Health Organization on Friday urged Chinese health authorities to regularly share specific and real-time information on the COVID situation.
The agency has invited Chinese scientists to present detailed data on viral sequencing at a technical advisory group meeting scheduled for Tuesday. It has also asked China to share data on hospitalisations, deaths and vaccinations.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that the European Union has offered free COVID vaccines to China to help contain the outbreak.
The Swedish European Union president said on Monday that EU government health officials would hold talks on Wednesday on a coordinated response to China’s outbreak.