The Director of the Health Commission in Henan Province, Kan Quansheng, told a press conference yesterday that the percentage of people infected with the new Corona virus (Covid-19) from the population of this province located in central China, as of January 6, 2023, reached about 89%. Henan Province is the third most populous province in China. China is facing a large and accelerating outbreak, since it decided on December 7 to cancel all preventive measures included in the "zero Covid" strategy, which aims to eradicate the virus in the world's most populous country. The population of Henan Province is 99.4 million. This means that about 88.5 million of its population have been infected with the virus. Can Quanxing said the review of fever clinics peaked on December 19. The opening of the Chinese borders, starting from Sunday, is the last manifestation of the canceled “zero Covid”. It is expected that China will witness more new infections with the start of the season for its citizens to travel to their villages and countryside to spend the Chinese New Year holidays during the third week of January. Yesterday, long and tortuous lines were seen in front of the Passports Department offices, due to the rush of Chinese to renew their passports, or to obtain new ones. And government-owned media reported yesterday that the number of Chinese people who traveled within the country last Saturday reached 34.7 million, more than a third more than the number of domestic travelers last year. And while it is expected that the abolition of the requirement for sanitary isolation for those coming from outside China will revive foreign travel; Many Chinese people refrained from traveling abroad after most Western countries and Asian neighboring countries decided to require the Chinese traveler to present a negative certificate for an examination conducted 48 hours before departure. Western countries fear that they will be affected by the transmission of the Chinese outbreak. And the Chinese health authorities stated that the number of deaths in China from the “Covid-19” virus, as of the 8th of this month, reached 5,272 deaths. It is a very small number when compared to what happened in other countries affected by the global epidemic. The World Health Organization stated that China does not provide transparent data on the extent of the outbreak that is sweeping it. Foreign health experts estimated that China could suffer at least one million deaths from the virus this year. Health officials and the media, owned by the ruling Communist Party, have sought to downplay the current health situation, claiming that the current wave of infections has peaked and is waning. The People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, wrote in an editorial for its Sunday issue that life has returned to moving forward. The newspaper praised government policies to combat the virus. She said that the Chinese government had shifted from “preventing infection” to “preventing the deterioration of the patient’s health.” And the official Xinhua News Agency stated yesterday, "The virus today is weak, and we are stronger." Yesterday (Monday), stock prices in Asian financial markets achieved their largest recovery in five months, due to investors' belief that reopening Chinese borders will boost the march of the Chinese economy, which is the second largest economy in the world, after the economy of the United States. Yesterday, Chinese state television reported that flights between China and South Korea could no longer find a seat in one of them. Flight data website Flightmaster reported (Sunday) that it monitored 245 international flights to and from China. He added that the same period in 2019 witnessed 2,546 flights. This represents a 91% drop in the number of international flights to and from China. Yesterday, Chinese official media said that China expects that the number of incoming and outgoing international flights will not exceed 30% to 40% of what it was before the outbreak of the new Corona virus. Chinese officials had hoped that international flights in China would rebound by between 70% and 75% in 2023.
The news from Washington carried great news for patients suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. The US Food and Drug Administration decided to approve Liquimbi, the brand name for escinimab, which was developed by the Japanese companies Eisai and the US Biogen, to treat patients in the early stages of this mind-destroying disease. And the two companies announced that they had decided to apply to the authority for full approval of the new drug, not emergency conditional approval. It is reported that all previously developed drugs for the same purpose have failed completely. "This is a very important development," said Dr. Howard Villett, chief scientist of the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation. He added that Esai and Biogen offer hope of making Alzheimer's disease not only treatable, but also preventable. And the Japanese company Eisai announced that the new drug will cost $ 26,500 annually. She stated that the number of American patients who are entitled to obtain this drug will reach 100,000 people within three years. The company said that it intends to apply for licenses to market the new drug in Japan and European Union countries by March 31.
"Chronic Covid"… new lights on its causes
Scientists are still puzzled, three years after the outbreak of the Corona virus, about knowing the reason behind the infection with what is known as “chronic Covid” disease, and why a number of people develop persistent symptoms of Covid-19 disease, even after they have recovered from the virus itself. Millions of patients with chronic Covid complain of symptoms that include extreme fatigue, lung problems, brain fog, and other nerve-related symptoms. And while scientists believe that most chronic Covid patients recover from it within a year; However, there is data indicating that more than 3,500 Americans have died from this disease. Several studies indicate that women are more likely than men to develop this disease. It is likely that there are biological reasons, including that the immune system of women is more powerful in its reaction to the invasion of viruses, germs, and parasites, according to Professor Sabrah Klein, a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, who specializes in immunity. Women are also more likely than men to develop immune diseases, in which the body attacks healthy cells. Recent research indicates that a woman's body has more of the lipid membrane. And those researches say that the new Corona virus hides in those fats. Scientists are also studying whether fluctuating women's hormones are a factor. Other studies suggest that some mysterious viruses, especially the Epstein-Barr virus, may play a role in some cases of chronic Covid. Scientists say that the new Corona virus can reactivate herpes viruses, which usually remain inside the body, even after the patient has recovered from her infection.
Okaz (Beijing, London) @OKAZ_online