As China is witnessing a massive surge in coronavirus infections, several hospitals in the country are reportedly struggling to cope with the influx of patients. On Wednesday, China reported 3,030 new symptomatic cases and 2,966 new local infections. The surge in infections comes after the Chinese government lifted nearly three years of lockdowns, quarantines, and mass testing.
1. China on Wednesday reported 3,030 new symptomatic Covid-19 cases - 71 less "as" compared to the 3,101 infections a day earlier. The country also reported 2,966 new local cases. According to the National Health Commission, the country did not report any deaths due to Covid. As of Wednesday, mainland China has confirmed 389,306 cases with symptoms.
2. Several hospitals in China are struggling to cope with the number of infected patients, and pharmacies are turning customers away empty-handed, reported Bloomberg. At one of Shanghai's biggest public hospitals - doctors in the intensive care unit were using hallways to handle the overflow of seriously ill patients on Wednesday.
3. According to a Chinese health official, China only counts deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official Covid death toll - limiting the number of deaths being reported as the virus surges, reported news AP.
4. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said that they are “very concerned” about the rising Covid cases in China. WHO Director-General during a press briefing said that they need more information on COVID-19 severity in China, particularly regarding hospital and intensive care unit admissions, in order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground. He added, WHO is very concerned over the evolving situation in China with increasing reports of severe disease.
5. The WHO chief said, "While Covid deaths have dropped more than 90% since their global peak, there were still too many uncertainties about the virus to conclude that the pandemic is over.
The situation in China is unique because of the path it's followed throughout the pandemic. While almost every other part of the world has battled infections and embraced vaccinations with potent mRNA shots to varying degrees, China largely sidestepped both. The result is a population with low levels of immunity facing a wave of disease caused by the most contagious strain of the virus yet to circulate.
The expected surge of infections and deaths are taking hold in China within a black box, since the government is no longer releasing detailed Covid data. The rise has medical experts and political leaders in the US and elsewhere worried about another round of disease caused by the mutating virus. Meanwhile, the number of cases sequenced globally each month to find those changes has plunged.
" There will certainly be more omicron sub variants developing in China in the coming days, weeks and months, but what the world must anticipate in order to recognize it early and take rapid action is a completely new variant of concern said Daniel Lucky, a fellow at the Infectious Diseases Society of America and professor at Dartmouth University's Gael School of Medicine. "It could be more contagious, more deadly, or evade drugs, vaccines and detection from existing diagnostics."
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