BEIJING: One of China’s top health experts has warned of an increase Covid-19 cases, state media said on Sunday, following the government’s decision to abandon its sweeping coronavirus strategy.
Shops and restaurants in Beijing are deserted as the country awaits a spike in infections following the decision to reduce the scope of mandatory testing, allow some positive cases to quarantine at home and end lockdowns in large scale.
Chief Epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan told state media in an interview published on Sunday that the Omicron The strain of the virus prevalent in China was highly transmissible and could lead to an increase in the number of cases.
“The stream) Mutation of Omicron… is highly contagious… one person can transmit to 22 people,” said Zhong, one of the government’s top advisers throughout the pandemic.
“Currently, the epidemic in China… is spreading rapidly, and under such circumstances, no matter how strong prevention and control, it will be difficult to completely cut off the chain of transmission.”
The easing of China’s so-called zero-Covid policy followed nationwide protests against strict virus rules that had hit the economy and confined millions to their homes.
But the country is now facing a surge of cases it is ill-prepared to handle, with millions of older people still not fully vaccinated and underfunded hospitals lacking the capacity to accommodate a large number of patients.
The country has one intensive care unit bed for every 10,000 people, Jiao Yahui, director of the National Health Commission’s Medical Affairs Department, warned Friday.
She said 106,000 doctors and 177,700 nurses will be redirected to intensive care units to deal with the surge in coronavirus patients, but did not give details on how this would affect the system’s ability to health to treat other illnesses.
On Sunday, long queues formed outside pharmacies in Beijing as residents rushed to stock up on cold and fever medicines and antigen test kits.
Some told AFP they were ordering medicine from pharmacies in nearby towns.
“I asked my family in Shijiazhuang to send some fever medicine by courier because nearby pharmacies don’t have stock,” Beijing resident Julie Jiang said.
Dozens of restaurants and small businesses in Beijing displayed signs saying they were “temporarily closed”, without providing details.
Several major online grocery and food delivery platforms, including Meituan, Fresh Hippo and Ding Dong, were struggling to operate in Beijing without enough delivery drivers.
“I’m afraid to go out,” said Liu Cheng, a mother of two young children living in Jianguomen district in central Beijing.
“Many of my friends with Covid symptoms tested positive on self-test, but they didn’t report it to authorities or go to hospital.”
The number of official cases in China fell sharply following the government’s decision to scrap routine mass testing, with only special groups including healthcare workers and delivery drivers exempt from the rules.
Shops and restaurants in Beijing are deserted as the country awaits a spike in infections following the decision to reduce the scope of mandatory testing, allow some positive cases to quarantine at home and end lockdowns in large scale.
Chief Epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan told state media in an interview published on Sunday that the Omicron The strain of the virus prevalent in China was highly transmissible and could lead to an increase in the number of cases.
“The stream) Mutation of Omicron… is highly contagious… one person can transmit to 22 people,” said Zhong, one of the government’s top advisers throughout the pandemic.
“Currently, the epidemic in China… is spreading rapidly, and under such circumstances, no matter how strong prevention and control, it will be difficult to completely cut off the chain of transmission.”
The easing of China’s so-called zero-Covid policy followed nationwide protests against strict virus rules that had hit the economy and confined millions to their homes.
But the country is now facing a surge of cases it is ill-prepared to handle, with millions of older people still not fully vaccinated and underfunded hospitals lacking the capacity to accommodate a large number of patients.
The country has one intensive care unit bed for every 10,000 people, Jiao Yahui, director of the National Health Commission’s Medical Affairs Department, warned Friday.
She said 106,000 doctors and 177,700 nurses will be redirected to intensive care units to deal with the surge in coronavirus patients, but did not give details on how this would affect the system’s ability to health to treat other illnesses.
On Sunday, long queues formed outside pharmacies in Beijing as residents rushed to stock up on cold and fever medicines and antigen test kits.
Some told AFP they were ordering medicine from pharmacies in nearby towns.
“I asked my family in Shijiazhuang to send some fever medicine by courier because nearby pharmacies don’t have stock,” Beijing resident Julie Jiang said.
Dozens of restaurants and small businesses in Beijing displayed signs saying they were “temporarily closed”, without providing details.
Several major online grocery and food delivery platforms, including Meituan, Fresh Hippo and Ding Dong, were struggling to operate in Beijing without enough delivery drivers.
“I’m afraid to go out,” said Liu Cheng, a mother of two young children living in Jianguomen district in central Beijing.
“Many of my friends with Covid symptoms tested positive on self-test, but they didn’t report it to authorities or go to hospital.”
The number of official cases in China fell sharply following the government’s decision to scrap routine mass testing, with only special groups including healthcare workers and delivery drivers exempt from the rules.
