China COVID-19 Positivity Rate Hits 16.3% in Week 29 of 2026; Drug Demand Rises for Junshi Biosciences and

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention's surveillance data for week 29 of 2026 showed that among respiratory samples from sentinel hospital outpatient and emergency influenza-like illness cases, the top three pathogens by detection positivity rate were COVID-19 (16.3%), influenza virus (12.6%), and enterovirus (6.8%). Among samples from hospitalized severe acute respiratory infection cases, the top three pathogens were COVID-19 (5.9%), rhinovirus (5.3%), and influenza virus (5.0%). The COVID-19 detection positivity rate has been trending upward recently, with the overall level at a medium epidemic level this week. Southern provinces reported a significantly higher positivity rate than northern provinces, and the highest rate was observed in the 15-59 age group. In the previous week 28, the overall COVID-19 positivity rate was at a low epidemic level.

From June 1 to June 30, 2026, the number of fever clinic visits at medical institutions of all levels across all 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities as well as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps rose from 58,000 on June 1 to 65,000 on June 30. The pathogenicity of COVID-19 is generally declining. Individuals with prior infection already have antibodies, and the viral mutation has not led to increased pathogenicity. Most infected persons experienced mild symptoms, such as low to moderate fever and sore throat, and typically recovered within a week.

Multiple pharmaceutical companies have observed growing demand for their products. Junshi Biosciences reported that since late June 2026, demand for its deuremidevir hydrobromide tablets has grown rapidly. The company has activated an emergency response plan, coordinating with its factory to schedule production based on demand, and maintaining sufficient drug and raw material reserves.

In the most recent week (July 20-26), orders for Simcere's antiviral COVID-19 drug on the JD. com platform were mainly concentrated in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Beijing, Guangdong, and Zhejiang, with Shanghai accounting for 22.66% of orders. On the Alibaba platform, the highest demand region was also Shanghai, at 18.97%. The total number of visitors across all platforms for this drug increased 53.3% week-on-week, and the number of orders grew 48.2% week-on-week.

For offline channels, COVID-19 treatment drugs and testing have been relatively stable recently. A community hospital in Shanghai reported that fever clinic visits remained at a stable level, and the hospital has prepared COVID-19 antigen test kits and antiviral treatment drugs. Some pharmacies have COVID-19 test kits for sale, while more stores only carry antigen test tools for influenza A and B. A large tertiary hospital in Shanghai has a nucleic acid testing registration and sampling area, but the equipment was not functioning normally; the online platform allows patients to apply for nucleic acid testing. The hospital can prescribe antiviral drugs, with the specific type determined by the doctor. Beijing You'an Hospital has maintained COVID-19 nucleic acid testing services and can prescribe COVID-19 treatment drugs.