The provincial government of Zhejiang, a large industrial region bordering Shanghai, announced on Sunday that the number of new COVID-19 infections is projected to quadruple in the coming days.

China reported no COVID-19 deaths on the mainland in the five days following Saturday, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated on Sunday, despite a statewide record number of cases.

Infections rose after Beijing announced substantial adjustments to a zero-COVID-19 policy that had placed hundreds of millions of its inhabitants under incessant lockdowns and devastated the world's second-largest economy. Citizens and experts have demanded more precise data as a result.

As a result of the National Health Commission's decision to discontinue reporting asymptomatic infections, case tracking in China has grown more complex. On Sunday, the commission ceased providing daily numbers, which the China CDC then published.

Zhejiang is one of the few regions that can estimate their recent infection surges, including asymptomatic cases.

The Zhejiang government stated that it expects the infection peak to arrive early in the province and to begin a period of high level around New Year's Day, during which the daily number of new infections would reach two million.

The province of Zhejiang, which has a population of 65,4 million, reported that among the 13,583 infections being treated in its hospitals, one patient had severe symptoms caused by COVID-19. In comparison, underlying disorders caused 242 conditions of extreme and critical circumstances.

China limited its definition for reporting COVID-19 deaths to include only those from pneumonia or respiratory failure caused by COVID-19, raising concerns among global health experts.

Since Beijing lifted restrictions, China has not reported any new COVID-19 hospitalizations to the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the organization, the data gap may result from difficulties tallying instances in the world's most populous nation.

'Most dangerous weeks'

According to a Capital Economics research paper, "China is entering the pandemic's most perilous weeks." "The authorities are making almost no measures to slow the spread of diseases at this time, and with the migration preceding the Lunar New Year having begun, all regions of the country that are not currently experiencing a significant COVID-19 outbreak will soon be affected."

Recent estimates indicate that Qingdao and Dongguan contain tens of thousands of daily COVID-19 infections, significantly more significant than the national daily total without asymptomatic cases.

According to official media, the country's healthcare system has been under immense strain, with staff being requested to work while ill and even retired medical professionals in rural towns being rehired to assist with grassroots efforts.

The approaching Lunar New Year in January, when many people return home, bolsters the urgency.

In the last week, visits to fever clinics in Zhejiang reached 408,400 per day or 14 times the typical rate; a Zhejiang official told a news conference.

State television said on Sunday, citing an Hangzhou health official, that the average number of daily requests to the emergency center in the capital of Zhejiang, Hangzhou, had more than quadrupled compared to last year.

Suzhou, a city in eastern China, reported late Saturday that its emergency line received a record 7,233 calls on Thursday.