How many infections and deaths are there really in China? Compared to the first periods since the beginning of the pandemic almost 3 years ago, Beijing has not changed the transparency of health data. And therefore knowing how many positive cases are discovered and how many people lose their lives as a result covid remains a mystery in China. The actual tally is still unknown, as authorities have stopped releasing numbers that, up until a few weeks ago, were not very credible compared to a population of over 1.4 billion people. The British health data company Airfinity has estimated, as the BBC explains, that more than a million infections and 5,000 deaths are recorded in the People’s Republic every 24 hours. Despite announcements by the Beijing government that it is easing restrictions, there are reports of collapsing hospitals and a very high number of deaths among the elderly.
“In China, hospitals and intensive care units are collapsing because of Covid. It feels like we’ve traveled back three years‘ writes Matteo Bassetti, Director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at the Polyclinic San Martino in Genoa, commenting on his Facebook page these days about the journalistic services on Beijing, which report on the saturation of the wards for the seriously ill and speak of overwhelmed hospitals. Meanwhile, the infection specialist observes: “Covid comes here, but the flu keeps growing”.
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Covid-stricken China pays over 60s to get vaccinated And Japan doesn’t trust Beijing
The situation is so serious that President Xi Jinping himself has intervened in the face of the “new situation” for a “more targeted health campaign” and a “community defense line.” And so a campaign was launched to pay those over 60 who get vaccinated. A line of defense against the virus launched on the same day that the abolition of quarantine for arrivals from abroad was announced (from January 8th), replaced by a negative test carried out in the 48 hours before entry: here, too, a radical change of pace in politics to contain the infection. China had already halved the duration of the mandatory quarantine for incoming travelers in June: from 21 to 10 days. Isolation is currently five days in special hotels plus a further three days at home. andn Measure corresponding to the abolition of the quarantine, aimed at giving new impetus to the economy disadvantaged by the restrictions: Since the beginning of 2020, the borders have been practically closed, international connections are severely restricted and tourist visas are not issued. Two days ago, and as part of the same line of action, Hong Kong made the decision with Beijing to reopen the border with China, which has been closed for three years, by mid-January.
Meanwhile, despite the announced end of quarantine for travelers heading to the Asian giant, Swiss company Swiss does not plan to resume passenger flights to China. “Until further notice, there will only be cargo connections from Zurich to Shanghai and Beijing,” an airline spokesman told AWP today. “The resumption of passenger flights and the situation on the ground are being examined‘ the spokesman added, specifying that he was unable to provide any further information at this time. What is important to the Swiss, however, is the necessary long-term operational stability. The surge in Covid-19 infections in China, spreading from the largest cities to vast rural areas, has terrified the World Health Organization, which said it was “very concerned” by the unprecedented wave of infections. WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during the weekly press conference in Geneva last week, Beijing asked for detailed information on the seriousness of the situation. “In order to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment, WHO needs more detailed information on the severity of the situation, disease, hospital admissions and intensive care units.”