BEIJING, China – With the first infections of COVID-19 cases past China’s big cities, all eyes are on rural areas as a new wave of infections is forecast, preparing remote and often poorer regions of China will be difficult.
“Even with good healthcare facilities in a big city like Shanghai, we were completely overwhelmed. We can only wait and see what happens in the field,” a 25-year-old medical student who works as a pediatrician at one of the largest children’s hospitals from Shanghai. he told Fox News Digital.
WATCH: CHINA’S CENSORS STRUGGLED WITH INCREASE IN PROTEST VIDEOS; PROTESTERS LEARNING ‘SOPHISTICATED’ VACUUM
“When the government unexpectedly lifted all COVID-19 restrictions, we didn’t know what hit us. We weren’t prepared at all.”
A man wearing a face mask shops for Chinese Lunar New Year decorations at an outdoor store in Beijing, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. China has suspended or closed the social media accounts of more than 1,000 critics of government policies on COVID-19. 19 outbreak, as the country has moved to open up further.
(AP Photo/Andy Wong)
The pediatrician, who withheld her name for security reasons, said: “The hospital was packed. Everywhere you looked, there were parents with their children. I work around 55 hours during a regular week, but I stopped counting the hours during the peak. They didn’t force us to work overtime, but we all knew that if we didn’t, there was no way we could help everyone.”
CHINA ENABLING ‘COVID-ZERO’ POLICY A ‘RARE SHOW OF WEAKNESS’ BY XI JINPING, SAYS A TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTESTER
She said that the conditions to treat the sick were minimal. “We had four to five minutes per patient. I felt bad, because the parents had to wait hours before seeing a doctor and we were only able to do a few minutes of evaluation. But there was no other way. Fortunately, the parents were so grateful. I guess it’s obvious we’re all in this together.”
A woman wearing a mask carries a child in front of workers decorating an exhibition celebrating the 20th Party Congress in Beijing.
(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
In most of China’s largest cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, the first peak of COVID has passed. In a recent study published by Frontiers of Medicine, a Chinese government-sponsored journal, Shanghai experts predict that the first wave will hit rural Chinese areas by the end of January.
As China celebrates the Lunar New Year, experts worry that the millions of people who have left big cities could lead to the country’s rural regions being affected by the virus due to poor health care facilities. People who live a few hours from cities are advised to travel back to their cities in case they get sick, but that’s only an option for some.
CHINA DEFENDS ITS HANDLING OF COVID AFTER BIDEN SAYS BEIJING IS UNDER-REPORTING DEATHS
“It is not difficult to assess when a child is seriously ill with COVID. Any basic doctor can do it both in the city and in the countryside. The problem is not the lack of knowledge but the lack of facilities. come to the bigger cities for treatment,” added the Shanghai-based pediatrician.
Fortunately, the children’s hospital where she works is better prepared for the influx of patients. Physicians from other departments are scheduled to work in the fever clinic, more rooms have been cleared, and medications appear to be back in stock. “I’m ready for the second wave. It can’t be much worse than the first,” she said.
Patients lie on beds and gurneys in a corridor of a hospital emergency department, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Staff
(Reuters)
For the first time since lifting its zero-COVID restrictions in early December 2022, the Chinese authorities released data on COVID-related deaths last weekend. According to official statistics, nearly 60,000 deaths were recorded in hospitals between December 8, 2022 and January 12, 2023. Jiao Yahui, head of the Office of Medical Administration of the National Health Commission, further specified that approximately 54 000 deaths were linked to underlying diseases. healthy conditions.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Experts outside of China, including within the World Health Organization, say these numbers seem too low. According to projections from the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), China is likely to reach 1 million COVID deaths by 2023.
“The only way I can explain these low numbers is that people don’t let their loved ones die in the hospital. As for the children, their parents always take them home when there is no hope of recovery”, explains the pediatrician. In those cases, it would be more difficult to track COVID deaths.
In comments reported by state media on Thursday, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said the virus was at a “relatively low” level, while health officials said the number of COVID patients in hospitals and with critical conditions was declining. .
Reuters contributed to this article.
