China braces for Covid surge as JN.1 variant spreads around the world

Chinese health authorities called for vigilance over the holidays as the country braced for a rise in Covid-19 cases driven by the JN.1 variant, according to the South China Morning Post, published December 29, 2023. Li Zhengmao of the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control said, "Due to continued stream of imported cases of JN.1 and the mass movement of people before and after the Lunar New Year, the JN.1 variant is likely to become a prevailing variant in the country, and that will cause an increase in Covid-19 cases."

At the time of the report, EG.5 was the most prevalent variant circulating in China, with JN.1 expected to overtake it because of rising imported cases and anticipated mass travel around the Lunar New Year holiday in early February, per the Post's coverage. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had said earlier the same month that JN.1 was first detected in the U.S. in September and was likely more transmissible than other variants, though it did not appear to cause more severe illness, the outlet reported.

The South China Morning Post account does not give a case-count figure for JN.1 infections in China at the time of publication, nor a specific projection of how many additional cases officials expected during the Lunar New Year travel period. Those figures were not established in the source reviewed for this restoration.

Who officials said was most at risk

Li warned the anticipated rise would disproportionately affect vulnerable groups: "[The rise in JN.1 cases] will increase the risks of severe cases and deaths among elderly and vulnerable people with underlying diseases," he said, according to the Post. He added that the expected increase "will also create pressure on the health system in rural areas as they are less able to treat the infected."

A global pattern, not an isolated one

The Post's framing placed China's JN.1 concerns within a wider global pattern rather than describing it as a uniquely Chinese phenomenon: the CDC comments cited in the same report described JN.1 as already dominant in the United States and spreading rapidly elsewhere by the time Chinese officials issued their warning. The report did not include comparable statements from health authorities in other countries beyond the U.S. CDC citation.

US In News compiled this archived account from contemporaneous coverage by the South China Morning Post. It restores a story originally published on this site in December 2023; figures are as reported at the time.