80% of people in China caught Covid since early December, say officials

Reported death toll surges to 72,000 after zero-Covid restrictions lifted; some experts estimate 1m deaths

About 80% of China’s population has been infected with Covid-19 since restrictions were lifted in early December, Chinese health authorities have said.

The figure, which equates to about 1.2 billion people, prompted some pandemic experts to estimate that more than 1 million may have already died, far more than the government’s official tally of about 72,000.