Tracking COVID cases ‘impossible’ as infections climb, China says

The surge of COVID-19 cases in China is “impossible” to track, the country’s top health agency announced Wednesday, one week after the country abruptly rolled back its draconian measures aimed at preventing the spread of the virus.

Since mandated COVID-19 tests have been lifted and most zero-COVID policies ended last week — after three years of strictly trying to contain the virus — China’s National Health Commission said the number of cases it reports no longer reflects exactly how many people are infected with COVID.

“Many asymptomatic people are no longer participating in nucleic acid testing, so it is impossible to accurately grasp the actual number of asymptomatic infected people,” the National Health Commission said in a statement Wednesday.

Without asymptomatic cases being tracked, China reported 2,249 “confirmed” infections on Wednesday, putting the country’s total at 369,918. That number is more than double the total from Oct. 1.

While visiting hospitals on Wednesday, China’s top official in charge of the pandemic, Sun Chunlan, said the nation’s capital has been hit with a significant outbreak for the first time.

“At present, the number of newly infected people in Beijing is increasing rapidly, but most of them are asymptomatic and mild cases,” he said, according to NDTV.

Chunlan explained that the country’s focus needs to shift from preventing infections to bolstering its treatment of those suffering from the virus — a far cry from the country’s previous stance, which involved strict isolation of the infected in order to put an end to infections.

REUTERS

ZUMAPRESS.com

ZUMAPRESS.com

He also called for more “fever clinics” to be set up around the Chinese capital. For days, the clinics have had lines of people waiting for hours outside in the cold in order to get COVID tests or treatments.

Lines have also been lengthy outside pharmacies, where cold and flu medications are in extremely short supply. While authorities said they were sourcing millions of antigen rapid test kits, they still remain difficult to obtain.

Across the city, work arrangements have been rapidly shifting as many people are falling ill with the virus. Many others are choosing to stay home to avoid running the risk of getting infected.

AP

AP

Beijing-based lawyer and former American Chamber of Commerce in China chairman James Zimmerman said on Twitter that nearly 90% of his office had COVID, jumping from about half from a few days earlier.

“Our ‘work at the home’ policy is now ‘work at home if you’re well enough.’ This thing came on like a runaway freight train,” he wrote on Wednesday.

The recent surge has brought complete chaos to China’s hospitals. According to analysts, the country is unprepared for a wave of infections that could easily overwhelm its health system and cripple businesses and the economy.

AP

AP

Some medical facilities have been struggling to find enough staff, while others are suspending or delaying non-COVID treatments, including dialysis and chemotherapy.

Chinese state media has been urging people with more mild symptoms to stay home and avoid calling Beijing’s emergency medical hotline in order to prioritize the scarce resources for those who are seriously ill.

With Post wires