Coronavirus: China urges vigilance at home and tracks outbreaks abroad to prevent Covid-flu superstorm this winter

Zhong Nanshan, China’s top respiratory expert, among experts warning of parallel risks as pandemic measures, reduced immunity and chill affect public health

Influenza season has arrived earlier than usual in US and UK and countries around the world also face outbreaks of bird flu and RSV respiratory illness

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Top respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan told a World Flu Day symposium there was a risk in China and overseas of an influenza-Covid double whammy striking the population this winter. Photo: Handout

Published: 12:00pm, 3 Nov 2022Updated: 1:55pm, 3 Nov 2022

Several top Chinese scientists have called for hypervigilance against the possible collision of Covid-19 and influenza outbreaks this winter as coronavirus cases again rise in some major cities.

Speaking at the World Flu Day symposium on Monday, Zhong Nanshan, China’s top respiratory expert, warned that the risk of the respiratory disease double whammy was high around the world, China’s official Science and Technology Daily outlet reported.

China faces surging Covid-19 cases in many parts of the country as winter approaches. On Tuesday, there were 409 new local symptomatic cases and 2,346 new local asymptomatic cases. Outbreaks were found in more than a dozen provinces and municipalities.

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Some local governments have called for extreme caution over both influenza and Covid-19.

Health authorities in the southern city of Guangzhou said they faced a “dire and complicated” outbreak this week, recording more than 500 infections in the past week.

On Wednesday, Zhengzhou in central Henan province slapped a seven-day lockdown on the entire district where the main Foxconn plant is located. The province has been in the limelight after an exodus of workers from the Covid-hit plant, the largest iPhone manufacturer in the world, caused a commotion on social media at the weekend.

Henan governor Wang Kai told a conference on Monday the province had to prepare in case of large outbreaks this winter and spring.

While holding fast to its zero-Covid restrictions, China is also keeping a watchful eye on spikes in coronavirus cases and other respiratory diseases elsewhere around the globe.