The percentage of COVID-19 serious and critical illness on the Chinese mainland decreased from 16.47 percent in 2020 to 3.32 percent last year. As of December 5, 2022, the rate has decreased to 0.18 percent. 

"China's eased COVID policies were introduced at the right moment, as the Omicron variant has significantly decreased in pathogenicity, buying time for people to gain protection through inoculation," Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said on December 17.

(Data edited by Sun Yiwen, graphics by Mukesh Mohanan)