Chinese authorities are rushing to increase the number of intensive care beds and health workers and increase the supply of medicines as Covid-19 sweeps the country.
Since the brutal dismantling of the strict zero-Covid regime, cases have exploded in China. A full picture of impact is difficult to measure. Authorities have admitted it is ‘impossible’ for the testing system to keep up, and the narrow metrics for attributing deaths to the virus mean the official tally – less than 10 this week – is at odds with widespread anecdotal reports of deaths and high traffic at funeral directors.
At least one large funeral home in Beijing was heavily guarded by security and police on Tuesday, after recent media reports of long lines of hearses.
On Tuesday, many state media reported on increased efforts to bolster health infrastructure and supplies.
According to the Global Times, several major hospitals in the city were buying more ventilators and other emergency equipment. Citing experts, the report says there are also major concerns about staffing levels, particularly critical care nurses. Last week it was reported doctors and nurses were forced to work even after testing positive.
The report says hospitals are “urgently” borrowing staff from other facilities to retrain them. Henan province aimed to more than double the number of intensive care units and nearly 10 times the number of doctors and nurses in intensive care.
Guangzhou, a city of 15 million, has increased the number of fever clinics to accommodate up to 110,000 patients a day from 40,000 previously. It is also working to increase the number of intensive care beds from 455 to 1,385 by the end of the day, the People’s Daily reported.
Meanwhile, the city of Nanjing has introduced purchase limits on ibuprofen and other drugs, as it and other regions scramble to increase the supply of over-the-counter drugs.
The National Health Commission (NHC) on Saturday also revised guidelines to allow people to donate blood seven days after the last positive test for Covid, after the outbreak was linked to shortages.
In Beijing, Reuters reported that a designated Covid-19 crematorium, where it saw a long line of hearses and workers in hazmat suits carrying the dead inside over the weekend, was heavily guarded on Tuesday. Reuters could not immediately establish whether the dead being taken there were Covid deaths.
Photo: Thomas Peter/Reuters
The current wave is expected to peak in major cities this month, before the second and third waves come after Lunar New Year travel and the ensuing return to work.
Despite this, the government pushed ahead with the reopening. China’s economy has been damaged by a slump in the property sector and Covid-zero induced disruptions to production and supply chains.
On Tuesday, the World Bank lowered its growth forecast for China in 2022 from 4.3% forecast in June to 2.7%.
A People’s Daily editorial said earlier in the morning that “signs of recovery have begun to appear” in the Chinese economy, “whether these long-time pessimists like it or not.”
However, there are numerous reports of personnel issues across China as employees fall ill. Zhejiang and Anhui provinces and the city of Chongqing are among places where authorities have reportedly said people can return to work if they have mild or asymptomatic Covid, “subject to good safeguards”.
An account on Weibo, named China Business News, said the decision would likely reduce overwhelming demand for rapid antigen tests, which previously had to be allowed to return to workplaces.
The ad was a top trending topic on Weibo, with over 150 million views.
“Doesn’t this encourage the infection of all employees to increase the maximum number of infections?” said one commenter.
“You should come to work even if you’re sick, he’s a real capitalist,” said another.
“HIV-positive colleagues are forced to stay on duty, but none of the leaders come to work for the company,” said a complaint.
Chinese social media is highly regulated and subject to strict censorship, but the sudden reopening and resulting rise in cases and deaths has been widely discussed online, with some disbelief. On Monday, thousands of comments under a post that had put the weekend’s official death toll at just three, were made invisible.
In the state’s official media, Xinhua, an editorial on Tuesday praised the online discussion, showcasing the numerous posts about infections and symptoms, and attempts to stock up on drugs that had run out, such as ” the comforting power of encouragement and caring”.
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