China’s increase of COVID-19 cases following the government’s rapid relaxing of its stringent controls caused to mayhem at unprepared and overcrowded hospitals, as scared locals flooded clinics in lengthy lines.
According to observers, China is unprepared for a wave of infections that could overwhelm its weak health system and devastate enterprises as its economy continues to contract due to its limited exposure to a disease that has been largely under control until now.
After huge protests, China’s government began last week to reverse its contentious “zero-COVID” policy, which led to an increase in cases.
During a COVID outbreak, an old woman on a stretcher is rolled into the fever clinic of a Beijing hospital.
AP
Eighty individuals huddled in the cold outside a fever clinic in Beijing’s upscale Chaoyang neighborhood while ambulances flew by.
A government official in Beijing reported on Monday evening that visits to these clinics have increased to 22,000 per day, a 16-fold increase from the previous week.
Others are stopping or delaying non-COVID treatments, such as dialysis and chemotherapy, since some medical facilities struggle to recruit sufficient staff.
In order to free up resources for the extremely ill, state media have urged anyone with moderate symptoms to stay at home and refrain from phoning Beijing’s emergency medical hotline.
One medical worker told Bloomberg News that staff in at least one hospital in the capital have been asked to continue working even if they have COVID, providing their symptoms are minor.
Doctors and nurses have reportedly been summoned back to work after vacation at another Beijing hospital.
Monday in Danzhai, China, a local receives the COVID-19 immunization.
Some facilities have reported up to 20% worker shortages.
Jiao Yahui, general director of the Bureau of Medical Administration of the National Health Commission, stated at a news conference on Friday that China had 138,000 intensive care beds. That is less than one per 10,000 individuals.
In recent weeks, local cases have been going downward since reaching a peak of 40,052 in late November, according to government data. Sunday’s total of 8,626 new cases was lower than Saturday’s total of 10,597.
It is unclear how much the number of infections has climbed since Beijing ended daily testing requirements in many locations last week.
However, interviews and social media reports indicate that there are breakouts in businesses and schools around the nation. Some restaurants and other companies have closed due to the high number of ill personnel.
The virus testing facility in Beijing’s Runfeng Shuishang area has closed since all of its personnel were infected, according to a post on the neighborhood’s social media account on Saturday. “Please be patient,” it urged.
China intends to deactivate the app used to monitor the travel history of its 1.4 billion inhabitants.
China’s official cumulative case count of 363,072 is roughly 50 percent more than it was on October 1 due to widespread breakouts. The official number of fatalities is 5,235, compared to 1,1 million in the United States.
Zhang Wenhong, leader of a team of experts in the business center, stated on Monday in the state-backed publication Shanghai Securities News that the current outbreak could reach its peak within a month, but the end of the pandemic could be three to six months away.
China has discontinued testing before to numerous activities, curtailed quarantine, and was planning to deactivate a mobile app intended to track the travel histories of its 1.4 billion inhabitants in an effort to join the majority of the rest of the world in attempting to live with the virus.
Zhang’s team stated in a WeChat post that, despite the outbreak, the current Omicron strain did not cause long-term harm and that people should be optimistic.
“We are about to exit the tunnel; fresh air, sunshine, and unrestricted travel await us,” the message stated.
“Try as hard as possible not to go out…,” it read on the texting platform WeChat. Be the first to assume responsibility for your own health, and let’s confront this challenge together.
People have been instructed not to seek medical assistance for mild COVID symptoms at hospitals, which are reportedly understaffed and overrun with new cases.
Monday, during the Covid-19 outbreak in Beijing, there was a line outside a fever clinic.
Such messages appear to have resonated with some individuals, who report being afraid to visit crowded places or eat in restaurants.
However, China is working to liberalize domestic travel, even if international travel is still a ways off.
Monday at midnight, a state-mandated mobile app identifying tourists to COVID-affected locations will be discontinued.
According to the flight tracking software VariFlight, the number of available domestic flights in China has surpassed 7,400, nearly doubling from a week earlier.
Experts say there is still a potential China’s ruling Communist Party will reverse course and reimpose limitations if hospitals become overcrowded.
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