The recent increase in COVID-19 infections in China is under control and there is no need to panic, but special precautions should be taken to protect elderly people with chronic diseases, said Zhong Nanshan, a prominent respiratory specialist.

Zhong, who is also an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said during an interview with Nanfang Media Group in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, that this wave of infections is increasing and expected to subside by the end of June.

The number of COVID-19 cases had been trending upward in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as well as a number of foreign countries including Singapore, the United Kingdom and Brazil from March to early May, according to data shared by Zhong.

In Hong Kong, more than 83 percent of COVID-19-related deaths occurred in those aged 65 and above, while 90 percent of mortalities had underlying diseases.

Data released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the COVID-19 positivity rate among influenza-like illnesses in hospitals rose from 7.5 percent to 16.2 percent from the end of March to early May.

"The epidemic is now rising, will gradually peak and then end around the end of June," he said.

Zhong said that while patients' symptoms are similar to previous outbreaks, sore throat and coughing appear to be more severe.

The dominant XDV variant is highly contagious but its pathogenicity — ability to cause obvious and serious symptoms — is relatively weak, he added.

Zhong said that the spread of COVID-19 in northern provinces had started earlier and will likely wrap up earlier than southern provinces, where infection numbers are now nearing its peak.

He added that COVID-19 infections pose no severe hazard for young people, but special attention should be paid to elderly people aged 65 and above who also have chronic diseases.

"It is important to deliver COVID-19 drugs to them within 48 hours (of symptom onset) so as to stop them from progressing into severe cases," he said, adding that infections can be life-threatening for them if no immediate intervention is taken.

Zhong added that COVID-19 will not disappear for sure and there is no definitive answer as to whether the virus will become a seasonal disease like influenza.