Chinese hospitals packed as Covid spreads unchecked

• China reported three new Covid-related deaths on Tuesday.
• Staff at Huaxi said that they were extremely busy.
• China is the last major country to treat the virus as endemic.

Wednesday, Chinese hospitals were under severe pressure as a rise in Covid-19 infections stretched the country’s resources. China is the last major country to treat the virus as endemic.

China began dismantling the world’s tightest Covid regime of lockdowns and thorough testing this month, putting its shattered economy on track for a full reopening the following year.

As a result of the loosening of limitations, which followed widespread protests against them, Covid is potentially infecting millions of individuals per day, according to some international health experts.

China’s vulnerable health system has been overwhelmed by the rapid repeal of Covid regulations, prompting countries that have been “living with the virus” to consider travel restrictions for Chinese tourists.

China reported three new Covid-related deaths on Tuesday, up from one on Monday, which is incongruous with the experience of countries with a significantly smaller population after they reopened.

Staff at Huaxi, a large hospital in the southwestern city of Chengdu, said that they were extremely busy caring for Covid patients, as they have been since Dec. 7.

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“I’ve been doing this job for 30 years and this is the busiest I have ever known it,” said an unidentified ambulance driver outside the hospital.

Tuesday evening, there were long lines inside and outside the hospital’s emergency room and at a nearby fever clinic. The majority of individuals who arrived in ambulances were given oxygen to assist with breathing.

A member of the pharmacy staff at an emergency department stated, “Almost all of the patients have Covid.”

She stated that the hospital lacked Covid-specific medications and could only supply cough suppressants.

Zhang Yuhua, a representative of the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, stated that the majority of recent patients were elderly and gravely ill with underlying conditions. According to official media, she stated that the number of people seeking emergency care has climbed to 450-550 per day from 100 previously.

Images published by the government In the intensive care section of the hospital, China Daily showed rows of primarily elderly patients, some of whom were breathing through oxygen tubes, receiving treatment from medical personnel wearing white hazmat suits.

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