Leading COVID-19 Expert Says When China's Borders Can Reopen

By Lars James Hamer

China's leading COVID-19 expert, Zhong Nanshan, has outlined two conditions the country needs to meet and maintain in order for an opening of the country’s borders. 

The first requirement is that deaths from COVID-19 need to fall to a rate of 0.1%. 

According to statistics from Bloomberg, the current rate of global deaths from COVID-19 is 1.9%.

Zhong went on to add that the virus’s reproduction rate needs to be within 1 to 1.5. A virus’s reproduction rate is a measure of how many people one patient can infect.

For these specific requirements to be met it is estimated that China will need its population to reach herd immunity. 

Herd immunity is defined as having 80 to 85% of the population vaccinated against COVID-19. 

READ MORE: Over 2 Billion COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Administered in China

According to Reuters, on December 8, 2021, China had already administered 2.56 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines. If this accounts for two doses per person, China has already vaccinated over 90% of the population. 

If these statistics are accurate, herd immunity in China may not be too far away. However, global death rates is holding us all back from travel in and out of China. 

READ MORE: Will China's Borders Really Remain Closed for Another Year?

[Cover image via Pixabay]

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