Beijing: The number of daily COVID-19 deaths in China has dropped by nearly 80% since the beginning of the month, according to officials, in a sign that the unprecedented infection surge may be starting to slow.

Since Beijing abruptly ended its zero-Covid policy last month, a wave of virus cases has swept across the country with the largest population in the world.

Given China's strict definition of COVID-19 deaths and official estimates of a large proportion of the population being infected, Beijing's figures are believed to be only a small fraction of the real number.

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The CDC previously reported that nearly 60,000 people had died of the virus in hospitals in just one month, but last week they added nearly 13,000 additional deaths from Covid-related illnesses between Jan. 13 and Jan. 19.

Although the wave peaked in late December and early January, when hospitals and crematoriums were full, recent local government announcements and media reports suggest that the wave may be starting to subside.

The number of virus deaths in hospitals on Monday was 896, up from 1,496 on January 4, according to a statement released on Wednesday by China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Additionally, the number of serious cases in hospitals dropped to 36,000 as of Monday, down 72 percent from a peak of 128,000 on Jan. 5, according to the CDC.

The announcement was made during the Lunar New Year, China's biggest public holiday, despite earlier warnings from the government that the time of year's heavy travel and social gatherings could spark a new wave of infections.

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As of Tuesday, 664 million trips had been made nationwide during the Lunar New Year travel season, according to figures cited by state broadcaster CCTV.