Tuesday, official media reported that a senior physician at one of Shanghai’s leading hospitals estimated that 70 percent of the megacity’s population may have been infected with Covid-19 during China’s massive outbreak.
After years of rigorous regulations were abruptly lifted without warning or preparedness last month, hospitals and crematoriums were swiftly overrun by infections.
Chen Erzhen, vice president of Ruijin Hospital and member of Shanghai’s Covid expert advisory council, believed that the majority of the city’s 25 million inhabitants were likely infected.
He told Dajiangdong Studio, which is controlled by the Communist Party publication People’s Daily, that the pandemic has now reached 70 percent of Shanghai’s population, which is 20 to 30 times more than in April and May.
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Beginning in April, Shanghai had a two-month shutdown during which over 600,000 individuals were afflicted and many were transported to mass quarantine centers.
Now, though, the Omicron version is rapidly spreading throughout the city.
COVID MEGA EXPANSION
In other major cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Guangzhou, according to Chinese health officials, the epidemic has already reached its peak.
In the neighboring province of Zhejiang, disease control officials reported on Tuesday that there had been one million new infections in recent days and that the province was entering a plateau of Covid activity.
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Chen stated that his Shanghai hospital was seeing 1,600 emergency admissions each day, which was double the amount before limits were loosened, with 80% of these patients being Covid patients.
“Each day, more than 100 ambulances arrive at the hospital,” he was quoted as saying, adding that around half of emergency admissions involved elderly patients who were fragile.
On Tuesday, AFP reporters observed people receiving emergency medical care outside the entrance of the packed emergency room at Tongren Hospital in downtown Shanghai.
The passageways flooded with scores of elderly patients connected to IV drips and jammed into beds. Some patients wore oxygen masks connected to canisters at their bedside.
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‘ENORMOUS CHALLENGE’
As millions of people prepare to return to their hometowns for the week-long Lunar New Year public vacation beginning on January 21, Chinese officials are preparing for a viral wave to attack the country’s underresourced rural heartland.
In an interview with state television CCTV on Monday, National Health Commission (NHC) official Jiao Yahui acknowledged that dealing with the anticipated increase in rural areas would be a “huge difficulty.”
“What we are most concerned about is that no one has returned home for the Lunar New Year in the past three years, but they can this year,” said Jiao.
“As a result, there may be a retaliatory influx of city dwellers into the country to visit their family, therefore we are much more concerned about the rural pandemic.”
She also acknowledged the strain on hospital emergency departments and pledged that the government will organize medical resources to guarantee that patients in poor areas receive treatment.
TESTING REQUIREMENTS FOR COVID
Approximately a dozen nations have put Covid testing limitations on Chinese passengers since Beijing announced the reopening of its borders on January 8.
Countries, including the United States, have highlighted Beijing’s lack of transparency about infection data and the possibility of novel strains as justifications for travel restrictions.
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China has only registered 22 Covid deaths since December, and the classification criteria for such deaths have been drastically reduced.
But Jiao told reporters on Thursday that China has always disclosed data “in the spirit of openness and transparency” on Covid-19 deaths and severe cases.
Jiao stated that China has always adhered to the scientific criteria for determining Covid-19 deaths, which are in line with international standards.
»Up to 70% of Shanghai’s population is infected with Covid, according to a leading doctor«