China did not see a significant rebound of the COVID-19 epidemic and no new mutant strains were detected during its Spring Festival, indicating the current wave has ended, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in its latest weekly update published on Wednesday.

"The recent wave of COVID-19 in China peaked in late December 2022 and has declined continually since," with similar trends observed in provinces as well as urban and rural areas, according to the weekly update, after a preliminary analysis of national data on diagnosis, treatment and surveillance of COVID-19 infection from December 9, 2022, to January 23, 2023.

"The number of outpatients, inpatients, severe hospitalizations and hospital deaths have declined consistently. The virus spread decreased to a lower level in late January 2023, and the pressure on the medical system was further relieved," it added.  

The update showed that the positive rate of nucleic acid tests in China peaked on December 25, 2022, at 29.2 percent, and that of antigen detection on December 22 with 21.3 percent, both of which decreased to less than 6 percent on January 23, 2023. 

Meanwhile, the number of fever clinic visits also peaked in late December. It had dropped by more than 90 percent by late January 2023.

According to the update, the number of hospitalized patients peaked at 1.63 million on January 5 and then declined, falling to 248,000 on January 23.

The number of critical cases in hospitals fell back to 36,000 on January 23. It peaked on January 5, totaling 128,000.

The number of deaths with COVID-19 infection in medical institutions reached a daily peak of 4,273 on January 4 and continued to decline thereafter, falling back to 896 on January 23, with a 79 percent decrease, it added.