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Chinese hospitals are under intense pressure due to the massive influx of patients infected with covid-19 in intensive care units, according to reports from the Asian country.
In early December, the Beijing government announced a complete reversal of its coronavirus policy – so far the strictest in the world – and began to remove mandatory confinements and the extensive testing program, following a series of citizen protests against these restrictions.
With the removal of mandatory testing, it has become impossible to track new cases in the country, while Chinese authorities have made it difficult to count covid deaths by only counting those caused by pneumonia or heart failure in this category. respiratory.
In a report by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCD) leaked to the press, authorities estimate that nearly 250 million people were infected with covid-19 in the first 20 days of December.
However, the National Health Commission (NHC) of China has reclassified covid-19 from type A to type B, which means that it is generally not life-threatening for healthy people.
It also announced on Sunday that it would no longer release infection figures.
The lack of official information has led the World Health Organization (WHO) and some governments to demand greater transparency from Beijing on new cases, their severity and the number of hospitalizations.
1. What do we know so far?
The whole picture is not very clear. Added to media censorship is the government’s decision not to publish figures for new infections.
For their coverage of the situation, foreign media rely on testimonies, photos and videos posted on social media by users inside China.
Some of the most recent show alarming scenes in hospital emergency rooms, with patients – often elderly – lying on stretchers, crowding the halls awaiting diagnosis or admission.
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Many patients have to wait in the hallways to be seen.
A Washington Post reporter recorded video showing patients crammed into hallway after hallway, with family members standing near them blocking the way.
This close contact between the sick and people thought to be uninfected could lead to an upsurge in cases.
According to the US newspaper, state media reported that the emergency department at Zhongshan Hospital, one of the largest in China, is seeing about 1,000 patients a day, 700 to 800 more than around the same time last year.
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The Covid test is no longer mandatory in China.
When the Chinese government decided to lift strict restrictions to control the disease, outbreaks were already on the rise. But since then, infections have soared, pointing to a high death rate among the elderly.
The NHA recently called on hospitals to reactivate retired healthcare staff to help deal with the surge in cases and to replace doctors and nurses who have been infected with Covid.
There are also concerns that many hospitals no longer have specific drugs to treat Covid and only offer drugs for specific symptoms such as coughs, said a pharmacy worker at a city hospital. Chengdu to the Asian daily The Strait Times.
In addition, China has lagged behind in its covid vaccination program. Furthermore, the vaccines it has developed and produced are considered less effective in protecting against serious Covid infections than the mRNA vaccines used in the rest of the world.
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A shortage of drugs to treat covid is being reported and hospitals are only giving out drugs such as ibuprofen to treat symptoms.
2. How many cases and deaths are there
The actual number of Covid infections and deaths related to these infections is unknown as authorities have stopped releasing the data. The decision was announced last Sunday by the National Health Commission.
“Information related to Covid-19 will be released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for reference and research purposes,” the NHA said in a statement, without giving further explanation.
Before the decision, the government in Beijing was reporting about 4,000 new cases a day and few deaths.
The low number of recorded deaths may be due to the new way authorities classify Covid deaths, attributing them only to those caused by pneumonia or respiratory failure.
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The large number of corpses arriving at crematoriums does not coincide with the official figures for Covid deaths in China.
As of December 21, the official death toll for that month was only eight. At the same time, however, crematoriums in the capital have had to deal with an increase in the number of bodies arriving to be cremated.
In the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention report leaked to the press, authorities estimate that nearly 250 million people were infected with Covid-19 in the first 20 days of December, following the dismantling of restrictions. imposed since 2020 to control the disease.
These figures were revealed by Sun Yang, deputy director of the CCD, at a closed meeting on Wednesday December 21, two people connected to the information told the British Financial Times.
Sun Yang said he estimated 37 million people were infected on Tuesday, Dec. 20 alone.
He added that the rate of spread of covid continued to increase and estimated that more than half of the population of Beijing and Sichuan were already infected.
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Critics say China is not being transparent about information about the disease.
A few days later, in an unusual article in a newspaper controlled by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, the director of health for the city of Quigdao – which has some 10 million inhabitants – claimed that up to to half a million new cases a day.
The unprecedented revelation that the wave of infections was not reflected in official statistics was quickly redacted and republished without the numbers.
Health experts predict that China will register at least one million covid deaths by 2023. Airfinity, a British site specializing in the pandemic, estimates that it could exceed two million.
3. What are the WHO and the international community saying?
The WHO said it was “very concerned” about developments in China and reports of an increase in serious cases of infection.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he had urged China to share its data on disease severity, hospitalizations and the capacity of its intensive care units.
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WHO calls for a full assessment of the situation.
In his statement, Tedros insisted that China must conduct the requested investigations to come to a full risk assessment of the situation on the ground.
He said the WHO would continue to help China focus its efforts on vaccinating those most at risk across the country.
WHO emergency program director Mike Ryan said the organization would urge China to import foreign mRNA vaccines, such as those from Moderna and BioNTech, which have been shown to be more effective against the Covid-19.
China has not yet approved the use of these vaccines in its population.
Meanwhile, last Monday, the Chinese government announced the reopening of its borders and the lifting of the limitation on flights abroad.
Within half an hour of the announcement, internet searches for trips to popular destinations have increased tenfold from a year ago.
However, Chinese tourists will not have free access to all countries.
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Travel demand to the most popular destinations has exploded after the reopening of borders.
US authorities announced on Wednesday that all passengers arriving from China, Hong Kong and Macau will be required to undergo a Covid test to enter the country, in a bid to “slow the spread” of the virus.
Japan, a popular destination for Chinese travellers, has announced it will also require negative Covid tests on arrival or a seven-day quarantine.
Malaysia, Taiwan and India have also announced restrictions and other countries are considering them.