Leaked document reveals nearly 250 million Covid-19 infections in China.

According to the private non-profit news service, the document, which appeared to be the leaked minutes of a December 20 meeting of China’s National Health Commission, estimated that 248 million people, or 17.65 percent of the country’s population, became infected with Covid-19 from December 1-20.

A senior Chinese journalist who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation told Radio Free Asia that the document was genuine and had been leaked by someone present at the meeting who was acting deliberately and in the public interest.

“To arrive at the figure, the firm used a computer model based on regional Chinese data. According to the same model, the current daily Covid-19 infection rate is more than a million. Official data currently shows a total of 1,800 cases and only seven deaths in the last week, but officials have warned that the virus is now “impossible to track” due to the discontinuation of mass, mandatory testing,” it added.

According to the report, cases are currently increasing the most in Beijing and the southern province of Guangdong. National Health Commission head Ma Xiaowei stated at an internal meeting that cases will likely rise further now that disease control and prevention measures have been largely lifted, and as people return to their parental homes to celebrate Lunar New Year.