Jakarta –
Deji Hospital in Shanghai on Wednesday (21/12) urged its employees to prepare for the “tragic battle” against Covid-19. Until the end of the year, nearly half of Shanghai’s population of 25 million people is expected to be infected with the corona virus.
“Christmas and New Year celebrations are bound to be dangerous,” RS Deji wrote on his WeChat account. “In this tragic battle, the Shanghai metropolitan area will fall. We have no choice and we cannot escape.”
China’s reopening came abruptly in early December, following a wave of protests by residents against the “zero-Covid” policy. Without adequate preparation, it is believed that the government will be overwhelmed by the surge in infection cases.
However, the death rate from Covid-19 in China, which totals 5,241 cases, is very low compared to other countries. Since December 21, zero deaths have been reported. The funeral sector, in fact, has recorded a peak in orders in recent weeks.
Chinese authorities alone say nearly 390,000 people are exhibiting symptoms of Covid-19. But pandemic analysts question the government reports, due to a lack of testing and testing following the lifting of pandemic restrictions.
One million dead
Pandemic analysts predict that China has the potential to record one million deaths from Covid-19 next year. The reason for this is low vaccination rates among the elderly. So far, only about 42.3 percent of people over the age of 80 have received the immunisation, health authorities report.
At a hospital in the capital Beijing, a CCTV report showed a line of elderly patients breathing with oxygen tanks in the intensive care unit. It is not clear whether they are sick with Covid-19.
On CCTV, the deputy director of the hospital admitted to receiving 400 new patients every day, four times the normal number.
“These patients are elderly people who have underlying diseases, have fever and respiratory infections. They are in serious condition,” said Han Xue.
Mobilization of health workers
The World Health Organization (WHO) had warned of a spike in transmission cases in China after it reopened. The UN agency welcomes the government’s plan to speed up the pace of vaccination in vulnerable age groups.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said his party needed more information on the development of the pandemic in China. Until now, Beijing has not fully reported the number of transmission cases or patients with severe symptoms.
Several cities in China have now distributed free fever reducers to citizens. The government of Tongchuan, a city of 700,000 in Shaanxi province, is asking retired health workers to return to work.
“All health care institutions in the city are under enormous pressure,” the city government wrote in a public statement.
rzn/as (rtr, ap)
See also the video “WHO analysis on why Covid-19 is raging in China again”:
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