China steps out of latest COVID-19 wave: Observers.

BEIJING -- China's COVID-19 related death tolls halved from the previous weekly total of 6,364 to the most recent week's 3,278. A sharp decline in deaths and the downward trend of COVID-19 infections indicate that China has stepped out of the current wave, observers said on Sunday.

China on Saturday reported 3,278 COVID-related deaths across 31 provinces and regions between January 27 and February 2, including 131 deaths caused by respiratory failure and 3,147 deaths from underlying diseases combined with COVID infections, according to a statement released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC).

Weekly deaths between January 20 and January 26 stood at 6,364, the China CDC data showed.

"China has stepped out of this current wave of COVID-19, with the numbers of infections, severe cases and deaths showing downward trends and hospitals across the nation have resumed normal operations," an expert from the China CDC, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The infection peak across provinces has passed. The 3,000 deaths reported between January 27 and February 2 were among those who got infected in mid-January, rather than recent infections, the expert said.

According to the official data released by China CDC, COVID-19 infections peaked at 6.94 million on December 22 with new daily cases decreasing to 15,000 on January 23 and then rising slightly to 24,000 on January 30. The positive infection rate dropped to 2.5 percent on January 30 after it peaked at 29.2 percent on December 25.

The China CDC data also showed the numbers of outpatients, severe cases in hospital and deaths in hospital were all trending downwards.

There was no obvious rebound during or after the week-long Chinese New Year holidays when tens of millions of people reunited for family gatherings and then returned to work at the new beginning of the Year of the Rabbit. Data reported across provinces also confirmed the country's latest wave of COVID-19 infections has come to an end.

The epidemic peak has passed, and it is at a low level in Hunan Province. The epidemic situation in all regions shows a downward trend, and there is no rebound, said Tong Yeqing, an expert from Central China's Hunan provincial disease prevention and control center, recently. Since the response of COVID-19 has been downgraded, lives of the locals returned to normality during the Spring Festival holidays, Tong added.

"During the Spring Festival, the numbers...