As lockdowns measures on the country are gradually being lifted and everyone seemingly going back to their normal lives, China's leading epidemiologist and senior medical adviser warned of the potential second wave.
A big concern about this matter is the lack of immunity among the greater majority of the Chinese population. Dr Zhong Nanshan did not directly mention the term "herd immunity" but it would seem that it is the most ideal scenario to achieve now.
Herd Immunity is when at least 50% of a population became immune to the virus. This could be achieved through vaccination or through natural infection. Both are currently impossible at the moment. World health experts said the vaccine could only come by the end of the year. As for natural infection, the process is risky since the virus is proven to be fatal.
"The majority of ... Chinese at the moment are still susceptible to the Covid-19 infection, because of a lack of immunity. We are facing big challenge, it's not better than the foreign countries I think at the moment," Dr. Zhong told CNN in an interview.
China has 84,484 total cases and 4,645 total deaths since the virus was detected in December 2019. On Sunday, the mainland reported three new local transmissions of COVID-19 and four new infections with patients having travel history. China's National Health Commission also reported 18 new asymptomatic patients.
In Wuhan, local authorities have also started mass testing for residents after new infections turned in prior weeks. As of Sunday, 222,676 people were already tested and a total of 28 asymptomatic carriers were detected.
China has other matters to attend to as the country slowly emerges from the pandemic. For instance, the country asked importers to stock on grains and oilseeds as concerns about supply heightened due to possible second wave of infections.
Brazil is China's biggest supplier of soybeans but the country is currently becoming the next hot spot of COVID-19 infections. At the same time, Spain and Italy, the hardest-hit countries in Europe, are China's key meat suppliers.
Elsewhere in the ASEAN region, recoveries continue with most countries doing well compared to the nations in the west.
As of Sunday, there new cases of infection reported in Brunei, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Thailand has extended a ban on international flights until the end of June to continue with the no infections.
All ASEAN countries are now looking at Vietnam and taking after the nation for its success in the fighting outbreaks. Despite the country's close proximity to China, the total number of infections in the country is now only at 320. The new cases reported on Sunday were Vietnamese nationals repatriated from Moscow.
The situation is worse in the Philippines that reported 214 new cases and 11 new deaths on May 16. The country now has 12,305 infections and 817 deaths. Singapore, meanwhile, has 465 new cases as of May 16, Indonesia has 529 and Malaysia 17 new cases.
