Up to 250 million people caught Covid in the first 20 days of December in China, officials estimate as the country’s pandemic chaos continues to unfold.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention believes 18 per cent of the population have been infected, after Beijing U-turned on its controversial zero Covid policy last month.
Hospitals have been overwhelmed and morgues have filled up but official figures actually suggest cases were declining because of the cut-off of testing.
