The massive corona wave in China is probably reaching its peak. According to model calculations, the number of daily new infections could have risen to a peak of 4.8 million per day by Friday at the latest before falling again, as reported by the London -based research institute Airfinity  . According to the calculations, the number of deaths should reach its highest level on Thursday at 36,000 a day. According to these estimates, 848,000 people may have died since the beginning of December.

According to the experts, the spread of the virus had also accelerated faster than expected due to the wave of travel that began in early January for the current Chinese New Year celebrations.

According to estimates by the leading epidemiologist Wu Zunyou from the National Health Department (CDC), up to 80 percent of all Chinese are likely to have been infected with the virus - more than a billion.

However, it is difficult to assess the situation independently at the moment because Chinese authorities hardly publish official figures anymore . Scientists around the world are therefore trying to bring together the little data available in order to get at least an approximate picture  .

According to the company, Airfinity's analysis is based on the most recently available data from China. This combined a team of epidemiologists with growth rates from other regions like Hong Kong and Japan, who, like China, had a zero-Covid strategy and then lifted restrictions.

While two infection curves were originally predicted, a larger and longer wave is now expected, which should increase the pressure on hospitals and lead to higher mortality, the Airfinity researchers reported. Their newly presented projections take into account reports that some domestic provinces, including Henan, Gansu, Qinghai and Yunnan, have already peaked in their infection wave.