China is reportedly scrambling to add hospital beds and fever clinics as a recent spike in COVID-19 cases has overwhelmed the country’s healthcare system and put the global community on edge.
Major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Wenzhou, added hundreds of fever clinics, some in converted sports venues, last week.
Masked commuters walk on a walkway between two subway stations as they head to work during the morning rush hour in Beijing, Tuesday, December 20, 2022.
(AP Photo/Andy Wong)
The number of fever clinics in urban and rural areas has been expanded and people have been asked to stay home unless seriously ill to conserve resources. Hospitals are also running short of staff, with reports saying workers have been asked to return to their posts as long as they don’t have a fever.
China’s rush to beef up its health care comes as Beijing reported five COVID-related deaths on Tuesday, following two on Monday, fueling concerns that the number could rise sharply after most health restrictions are lifted. “COVID zero.”
CHINA ONLY COUNTS COVID-19 DEATHS DUE TO RESPIRATORY FAILURE
Despite the rise in cases, China began to abandon its strict “zero-COVID” policies after facing an unprecedented wave of bizarre anti-government protests.
Meanwhile, public health officials have raised the alarm about potential virus mutations in a country that lacks natural immunity and has been protected for so long.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price also said Monday that the possibility of the virus mutating and spreading within China is “a thread for people everywhere.”
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Now that people are testing and recovering at home, China has said it is no longer possible to keep an accurate tally of the numbers of new cases, making it substantially more difficult to gauge the status of the current wave of infection and its direction. Some scientific models have estimated that the numbers will rise with eventual death tolls in the tens or hundreds of thousands.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
