Global health officials tried to determine the facts of China's raging COVID-19 outbreak and how to prevent a further spread as the government's mouthpiece newspaper on Wednesday rallied citizens for a "final victory" over the virus..

Because the virus has been contained in China since it first appeared in the city of Wuhan three years ago, the country's strict virus controls were removed last month, allowing COVID to infect a population of 1.4 billion people with little natural immunity.

International health experts forecast at least one million deaths in China this year, and funeral homes have reported a surge in demand for their services.

However, China has formally downplayed worries about a disease that it had previously laboured to eradicate through mass lockdowns even as the rest of the world opened up by reporting a small number of COVID deaths since the policy U-turn.

The People's Daily, a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party, responded to criticism of its strict anti-virus policies that late last year led to historic protests by declaring in an editorial that "China and the Chinese people will surely win the final victory against the epidemic."

China has been particularly critical of decisions made by some countries to require a COVID test of its citizens, saying they are unreasonable and lack a scientific basis, as it now removes those restrictions.

Health officials from the 27-member European Union are due to meet on Wednesday on a coordinated response to deal with the implications of increased travel from China.

Most European Union countries favour pre-departure COVID testing for travellers from China, the European Commission said on Tuesday, following similar measures imposed by the United States, Britain, South Korea and others. China, which has been largely shut off from the world since the pandemic began in late 2019, will stop requiring inbound travellers to quarantine from Jan. 8.

The U.N. agency had invited the scientists to present detailed data on viral sequencing and to share data on hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations.

The WHO would release information about the talks later, probably at a Wednesday briefing, its spokesperson said. The spokesperson earlier said the agency expected a "detailed discussion" about circulating variants in China, and globally.

Last month, media reported that the WHO had not received data from China on new COVID hospitalisations since Beijing's policy shift, prompting some health experts to question whether it might be concealing the extent of its outbreak.

China reported five new deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday, down from three the day before, bringing the official death toll to 5,258, a very low number by global standards.

However, it is widely believed that tolls are much higher. UK-based health data firm Airfinity says about 9,000 people are likely to die from COVID every day in China.

At Shanghai's Zhongshan hospital, there were tumultuous scenes on Tuesday as patients, many of whom were elderly, fought for space in crammed hallways between makeshift beds where people were using oxygen ventilators and receiving intravenous drips.

With COVID disruptions slowing China's $17 trillion economy to its lowest growth in nearly half a century, investors are now hoping policymakers will intervene to counter the slide.

China's yuan hovered at a four-month high against the dollar on Wednesday, after its finance minister pledged to step up fiscal expansion this year, days after the central bank said it would implement more policy support for the economy.

Despite some countries imposing restrictions on Chinese visitors, interest in outbound travel from the world's most populous country is cranking up, state media reported.

Bookings for international flights from China have risen by 145% year-on-year in recent days, the government-run China Daily newspaper reported, citing data from travel booking platform Trip.com.

The number of international flights to and from China is still a fraction of pre-COVID levels. The government has said it will increase flights and make it easier for people to travel abroad.

Thailand, a major destination for Chinese tourists, is expecting at least five million Chinese arrivals this year, its tourism authority said on Tuesday.

More than 11 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand in 2019, nearly a third of its total visitors.

But there are already signs that an increase in travel from China could pose problems abroad.

South Korea, which began testing travellers from China for COVID on Monday, said more than a fifth of the test results were positive.

Authorities there writing on Wednesday for one Chinese national who tested positive but went missing while awaiting quarantine. The person, who was not identified, could face up to a year in prison or fines of 10 million won ($7,840).