Iran Press/Asia: China faces a potential second wave of coronavirus infections due to a lack of immunity among its population, its government's senior medical advisor has warned.
After months of lockdowns and curbs on travel China has largely brought the virus under control, but fears of a second wave have risen as clusters have emerged in northeast provinces and in the central city of Wuhan.
"The majority of... Chinese at the moment are still susceptible of the COVID-19 infection, because (of) a lack of immunity," Zhong Nanshan, the public face of government's response to the pandemic, told CNN.
"We are facing (a) big challenge. It's not better than the foreign countries I think at the moment," Zhong added.
Zhong, who helped expose the scale of the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), also said authorities in ground-zero Wuhan had under-reported cases during the early days of the pandemic.
The novel coronavirus has killed at least 309,296 people, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP, with scientists around the world racing to find a vaccine.
104
Read More:
US-China war of words clouds WHO meet focused on COVID-19 crisis
China warns politicizing factors in combating Coronavirus
China hits out at US claims of coronavirus research hacking as tensions flare
