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A top government health adviser has stated that China’s so-called “zero-COVID” policy has been partially relaxed, which could lead to an increase in COVID-19 cases.
In an interview with state media on Sunday, top epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan issued a warning. This comes as official case numbers in China have decreased, largely due to a dramatic drop in testing following the policy change announced last week.
After occasional nationwide protests over the restrictions that had been in place for years, the government made the changes, reducing the scope of mandatory testing, allowing some people who test positive to quarantine at home, and ending large-scale lockdowns.
Zhong, who has advised Beijing throughout the pandemic, stated, “The [current] Omicron mutation… is very contagious… one person can transmit [the virus] to 22 people.”
He stated, “Currently, the epidemic in China is… spreading rapidly, and under such circumstances, it will be difficult to completely cut off the transmission chain, no matter how strong the prevention and control are.”
Zhong stated that there were indications “that hundreds of thousands or tens of thousands of people are infected in several major cities,” and that urban areas across the nation showed signs of a population either fearful of a forthcoming surge or already struggling with infections.
After reporting 3,974 new cases on December 6, officials in Beijing only reported 1,661 new cases on Saturday, with several businesses closing.
Liu Cheng, a mother of two young children who lives in the Jianguomen area of central Beijing, told the AFP news agency, “I’m afraid to step out.”
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“When self-testing, many of my friends with COVID symptoms have tested positive, but they haven’t gone to the hospital or told the authorities about it.”
Concerns that the country’s health system is ill-equipped to deal with a large number of unvaccinated elderly residents have been stoked by the anticipated surge. A vaccination campaign for the elderly that the government has intensified is expected to take months to complete.
The National Health Commission’s director of the Department of Medical Affairs, Jiao Yahui, issued a warning on Friday that the nation only has one bed for 10,000 patients in an intensive care unit.
She said that intensive care units would be used by 106,000 doctors and 177,700 nurses to deal with an increase in coronavirus patients, but she didn’t say how this would affect the health system’s ability to treat other diseases.
Jiao’s declaration came a day after a bureau proclamation called for “full preparation” of clinics, including adding staff to guarantee their “battle viability” and expanding drug supplies, as indicated by state media.
To combat the current uneven distribution of hospitals and services, the cabinet also urged officials to ensure that rural areas have “fair access” to treatment and medications.
In the meantime, on Sunday, there were long lines outside Beijing pharmacies as people rushed to stock up on antigen test kits and medicines for colds and fevers.
Several residents told AFP that they were ordering medications from nearby cities’ pharmacies.
After a fatal fire in Urumqi in the northwest of the country, protesters demanded that restrictions be relaxed. Some people wondered whether anti-virus restrictions like locked doors made the situation worse, which authorities have denied.
President Xi Jinping’s government has pledged to reduce the measures’ costs and impact on the economy. In the three months that ended in June, the economy contracted by 2.6% compared to the previous quarter.
(“This story remains unedited by News360Express staff and is published from a syndicated feed.”)