BEIJING - Despite the rising trend of variant EG.5 cases, China's overall COVID-19 prevalence remains at a low level, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday.

The proportion of EG.5-related cases in all COVID infections has risen from 0.6 percent in April to 71.6 percent at present, and it is the predominant variant in the vast majority of provinces in China. There is a high possibility that the trend will continue over a period of time, the center said.

The pressure that current cases are putting on local healthcare systems is relatively low, and it is unlikely that large-scale transmission will take place in the short term, according to the center.