A top Chinese virologist warned the country risks economic collapse if local officials continue to try to wipe out all traces of Covid-19, marking the most vocal criticism of China’s so-called Covid Zero approach by one of its own experts.

Prof Guan Yi, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, disparaged China’s effort to eliminate sporadic flareups of the virus through mass testing and lengthy quarantines.

In the wide-ranging interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite TV, he urged a reality-check on how well an extensive vaccination drive helped the world’s most populous country build immunity to Covid-19.

“We don’t stand a chance if we pursue a target of zero Covid,” said Prof Guan, who has been dubbed the “virus hunter” by the Chinese media for his work on identifying the animal origins of the coronaviruses that caused Sars and Mers.