China’s CDC Reports New COVID-19 Cases Hit Nearly 20 Percent

Meanwhile, the number of reported COVID-19 deaths in China remains orders of magnitude lower than is expected for a country of its population.

Commuters wear protective masks as they exit a train at a subway station during rush hour in Beijing, China, on April 13, 2020. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that new COVID-19 infections in the country of origin have increased to nearly 20 percent in the past few weeks, as two new Omicron subvariants spread across the country.

But while increases to China’s official COVID-19 test positivity rate mirrors that of the rest of the world, its number of reported COVID-19 deaths remains orders of magnitude lower than is expected for a country of its population, given the ongoing reports of COVID-19-related deaths in other countries.