China’s Covid crisis: What’s happening in China after sudden surge in Covid-19 cases; top 10 points here
Despite the sudden surge and strain on hospitals, funeral homes, and crematoriums, China’s National Health Commission reported five Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, following two on Monday, and said these deaths were the first fatalities reported in weeks.
- Dec 21, 2022,
- Updated Dec 21, 2022 4:58 PM IST
China Covid outbreak: Less than two weeks after easing the lockdown restrictions, China is facing a sudden surge in Covid cases. As per news reports, due to the sudden surge in cases, the hospitals are struggling with the high inflow of patients.
Various social media platforms are flooded with posts and videos, which are claiming that not just hospitals in Beijing, but funeral homes and crematoriums are having a hard time dealing with the cases.
Here are the top 10 points on the Covid-19 surge in China:
1. Despite the sudden surge and strain on hospitals, funeral homes, and crematoriums, China’s National Health Commission reported five Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, following two on Monday, and said these deaths were the first fatalities reported in weeks.
2. The Chinese government has said those who die directly due to respiratory failure and complications due to any variant of Coronavirus would be counted under the Covid death statistics.
3. According to National Health Commission, the country reported 3,101 new symptomatic Covid infections on Tuesday out of which 3,049 were domestic cases. With this, the total number of confirmed cases with symptoms reached 386,276.
4. On December 18, China’s chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou in a briefing said that the country is experiencing the first of three expected infection waves this winter.
5. But hospitals and crematoriums in the cities of Beijing, Chongqing, and Guangzhou are reporting a different scenario. Hospitals, funeral homes, and crematoriums in Beijing are struggling to keep up with the emergency requests that have jumped to 30,000 a day from an average of about 5,000, as per news reports.
6. According to a Reuters report, workers at funeral parlours in Beijing said that there has been a surge in residents looking to cremate deceased relatives, leading to queues and delays.
Security guards are standing outside the crematoriums in Beijing where workers in hazmat suits can be seen carrying the dead inside.
7. Many reports have said that crematoriums are now managing as many as 22-30 cremations a day. Before December, the number was a mere 5 or 6 cases a day.
8. In addition to this, many people have reported that the crematoriums are charging exorbitant prices to avoid the long queue. According to a Reuters report, some funeral homes are charging 26,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan for cremation, which is around Rs 300,000 to Rs 320,000 in domestic currency.
9. Along with this, hospitals and pharmacy shelves are also facing a shortage of basic medicines and drugs. It was reported that people from Beijing people are forced to rush to the pharmaceutical factories to buy ibuprofen because it is completely sold out in the market and medical shops.
10. The ruling party in China, the Communist Party of China, has been saying that its newly adopted “Zero Covid” is a superior strategy for tackling the pandemic as compared to that of its western counterparts. The party has claimed with the adoption of Zero Covid measures, there were only 5,242 Covid-related deaths until December 19, compared to 1.1 million in the United States, which is the highest in any country.
China Covid outbreak: Less than two weeks after easing the lockdown restrictions, China is facing a sudden surge in Covid cases. As per news reports, due to the sudden surge in cases, the hospitals are struggling with the high inflow of patients.
Various social media platforms are flooded with posts and videos, which are claiming that not just hospitals in Beijing, but funeral homes and crematoriums are having a hard time dealing with the cases.
Here are the top 10 points on the Covid-19 surge in China:
1. Despite the sudden surge and strain on hospitals, funeral homes, and crematoriums, China’s National Health Commission reported five Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, following two on Monday, and said these deaths were the first fatalities reported in weeks.
2. The Chinese government has said those who die directly due to respiratory failure and complications due to any variant of Coronavirus would be counted under the Covid death statistics.
3. According to National Health Commission, the country reported 3,101 new symptomatic Covid infections on Tuesday out of which 3,049 were domestic cases. With this, the total number of confirmed cases with symptoms reached 386,276.
4. On December 18, China’s chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou in a briefing said that the country is experiencing the first of three expected infection waves this winter.
5. But hospitals and crematoriums in the cities of Beijing, Chongqing, and Guangzhou are reporting a different scenario. Hospitals, funeral homes, and crematoriums in Beijing are struggling to keep up with the emergency requests that have jumped to 30,000 a day from an average of about 5,000, as per news reports.
6. According to a Reuters report, workers at funeral parlours in Beijing said that there has been a surge in residents looking to cremate deceased relatives, leading to queues and delays.
Security guards are standing outside the crematoriums in Beijing where workers in hazmat suits can be seen carrying the dead inside.
7. Many reports have said that crematoriums are now managing as many as 22-30 cremations a day. Before December, the number was a mere 5 or 6 cases a day.
8. In addition to this, many people have reported that the crematoriums are charging exorbitant prices to avoid the long queue. According to a Reuters report, some funeral homes are charging 26,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan for cremation, which is around Rs 300,000 to Rs 320,000 in domestic currency.
9. Along with this, hospitals and pharmacy shelves are also facing a shortage of basic medicines and drugs. It was reported that people from Beijing people are forced to rush to the pharmaceutical factories to buy ibuprofen because it is completely sold out in the market and medical shops.
10. The ruling party in China, the Communist Party of China, has been saying that its newly adopted “Zero Covid” is a superior strategy for tackling the pandemic as compared to that of its western counterparts. The party has claimed with the adoption of Zero Covid measures, there were only 5,242 Covid-related deaths until December 19, compared to 1.1 million in the United States, which is the highest in any country.