JAKARTA - The Shanghai hospital has told its staff to prepare for a 'tragic battle' against COVID-19, as it is estimated half of the city's 25 million people will be infected by the end of the year, while the virus spread throughout China largely out of control.
China is taking drastic changes to its zero-COVID strict policy, which has claimed many financial and psychological casualties to its 1.4 billion population.
However, China's official death toll since the pandemic began three years ago reached 5,241 - much smaller than most other countries have faced.
China reported no new deaths from COVID for the second day in a row on December 21, as funeral workers said demand had soared in the past week, pushing higher costs.
Authorities, who have narrowed the criteria for death from COVID, sparked criticism from many disease experts, confirmed 389,306 cases with symptoms.
Some experts say official figures have become unreliable guidance, as less testing is carried out across China following the easing of restrictions.
Deji Shanghai Hospital posted on its official WeChat account late Wednesday, estimating there are about 5.43 million positive people in the city, with 12.5 million people in China's main commercial hub going to be infected by the end of this year.
"This year's Christmas, New Year's Eve and Chinese New Year are destined unsafe," the hospital said.
"In this tragic battle, the entire Greater Shanghai will be infected, infecting all hospital staff! Infection the whole family! All of our patients will be infected! We have no choice, and we cannot escape," the post continued.
It is known that Shanghai residents experienced a two-month lockdown ending on June 1, with many losing revenue and having poor access to basic needs. Hundreds died and hundreds of thousands were infected during those two months.
Meanwhile, experts say China could face more than a million deaths from COVID next year, given the relatively low level of full vaccination among vulnerable elderly populations.
China's vaccination rate is above 90 percent, but levels for adults who have received booster shots have fallen to 57.9 percent and to 42.3 percent for people aged 80 years and over, according to government data.
Separately, the Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said he was concerned about the spike in infections, supporting the government to focus on vaccinating those at the highest risk.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters the agency needed more detailed information on the severity of the disease, hospital admissions and requirements of the intensive care unit for a comprehensive assessment.
It is known, some Chinese experts expect the COVID wave to peak in late January, with the possibility of life returning to normal by the end of February or early March.
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