China on Monday recorded its first deaths since the easing of strict measures under its “zero-COVID” policy, at a time when hospitals and crematoria in Beijing are being swamped by an unprecedented wave of cases.
The Asian giant abruptly turned around in early December, lifting most of the health restrictions that had been in place for nearly three years since the first coronavirus cases emerged in the city of Wuhan (mid) in late 2019.
Since the restrictions were lifted, the COVID-19 epidemic has exploded in China. But their extent is “impossible” to determine, after the admission of the authorities, screening tests are no longer mandatory.
Experts fear the country is ill-prepared for the wave of infections linked to this reopening, while millions of elderly and vulnerable people are still unvaccinated.
On Monday, authorities reported the deaths of two patients in Beijing, who officials said were the only ones since restrictions were lifted on December 7.
Since then, the Chinese capital and its 22 million inhabitants have been particularly affected by a wave of contamination unprecedented since the beginning of the pandemic, which has spread at lightning speed in recent days.
Reports point to a rise in deaths in hospitals and overcrowded crematoria, while anti-flu drugs are missing from pharmacies.
“The (official) numbers don’t tell the whole story,” said Leong Hoe Nam, a Singapore-based infectious disease expert who said he expects a much higher toll.
And to argue: Some hospitals are too full to take in new patients, while the importance of the Covid may have been minimized by nursing staff.
So if someone “dies from a heart attack after the stress of being infected” with COVID, “then the heart attack will be the (retained) leading cause of death, although COVID is the cause under -jacente,” Mr Leong noted to AFP.
“three waves»
Since the restrictions were lifted, the authorities have been trying to reassure people about the benign nature of the virus, despite its contagiousness – contrary to the official discourse since the beginning of the pandemic.
The municipal province of Chongqing (southwest) with more than 30 million people is one of the first to approve a return to work despite COVID symptoms.
“Asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients can go to work as normal,” said a community statement released by the local Chongqing Daily on Sunday.
At the other end of the country, Zhejiang province, which borders Shanghai, it was also ruled that people with mild symptoms can “continue to work” provided they take “protective measures”.
One of the country’s top epidemiologists, Wu Zunyou, has warned that China is facing “the first of three waves” of COVID expected this winter.
The current wave is expected to last until mid-January, mainly affecting cities, before the Lunar New Year (22 January) holiday-related displacement triggers a second in February.
The third peak will occur between late February and mid-March when those infected return to their jobs during the holiday, Wu said, according to the Caijing Business Daily.