Still smarting from the ruptures of COVID-19 that took humanity by storm in 2020, the world is panicking yet again, with the surge of the virus in China. The country had a month ago reversed its zero-COVID-19 policy restrictions. In the wake of this U-turn, hospitals in major Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong have been filled to capacity with COVID-19 patients. Experts say that about 250 million people were reportedly infected in the first three weeks of December 2022.
A Henan province health data, which records that 88.5 million people, out of a population of 99.4 million, contracted the virus as of 6 January is reinforced by Peking University’s study that claims 900 million Chinese were infected as of 11 January. The lobby of hospitals in cities are over-crowded with patients, several of whom lay on the floor, waiting for admission. While hospitals are struggling to cope, most schools and businesses have shut down. The situation is so gruelling that doctors and nurses infected with the virus are being compelled to work, despite their frail conditions. About 5,000 deaths and one million infections are reportedly recorded daily in China, says Airfinity Ltd, a United Kingdom-based analytic company.
The details are so staggering that China has censored the daily publication of COVID-19 cases and deaths. The country’s crematoriums are overwhelmed. As its COVID-19 situation skyrockets, China has, ironically, removed all restrictions for foreign travellers; a policy action shy of a Greek gift. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and many countries are concerned about Beijing’s usual opacity in public health disclosures. WHO’s director of emergencies, Mike Ryan, has emphasised that, “We still do not have complete data.” The organisation has just made a global appeal for the use of face masks, irrespective of the epidemiological situation.