Status: 12/19/2022 10:51
After the end of the zero-Covid policy, the Chinese authorities report two Corona-related deaths for the first time. The virus is spreading rapidly, especially in cities. Schools have closed again in Shanghai.
Chinese health authorities have announced Covid-19-related deaths for the first time since December 4. The two deaths each affected the capital Beijing.
The National Health Commission has increased the number of official deaths from corona since the start of the pandemic to 5,237, while the number of cases was listed as 380,453. After the recent easing of corona measures, fewer tests are being carried out across the country. The official data therefore do not currently provide a reliable picture of the situation in the country.
Beijing’s crematoria have seen a sharp increase in the number of deaths, in some cases four to five times higher than usual, according to foreign press reports.
Epidemiologists predict three waves
In Beijing, people are falling ill in droves. The authorities are urging people not to go to hospitals and to treat the disease at home if possible. Cold and fever medicines are out of stock in many pharmacies. Numerous shops, restaurants and businesses are closed due to lack of employees.
Epidemiologists expect three waves of infection to hit the most populous country on earth by mid-March. The current first wave will last until mid-January and will mainly affect urban areas, Shanghai health department chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou said, according to state media.
The expert predicts the second wave by mid-February with travel time around the Chinese New Year on January 22, when many millions of Chinese traditionally travel to their home villages. As travelers return, the third wave can be expected from late February to mid-March, said Wu Zunyou.
Schools are closed again in Shanghai
In Shanghai, where the coronavirus situation has also worsened in recent days, primary and secondary schools, but also kindergartens and day care centers have closed again.
Students are taking lessons online, as announced by the education authorities of the port metropolis. High school students, on the other hand, can choose to continue attending school or study from home.
Is Covid-19 just a “corona cold”?
State agencies have cited the relatively mild consequences of the predominant omicron subtypes as a reason to end the zero-Covid policy. One of the country’s most famous epidemiologists, Zhong Nanshan, has called for China to simply call Covid-19 the ‘crown cold’.
According to the party-affiliated newspaper Global Times, the reason given by the government adviser was that the infection after the virus mutations in the past two years has mainly affected the upper respiratory tract and less than the lungs than before. At 0.1 percent, Covid-19 also has a death rate similar to that of the regular flu.
Civil servants are expected to work despite symptoms
One consequence of this change of perspective: In Chongqing in the south of the country, people can now even return to work with coronavirus symptoms. This was reported by the newspaper “Chongqing Daily”, quoting a statement from the city authorities.
Even in the eastern province of Zhejiang, an important economic center with a population of over 60 million, it is stated that people with mild symptoms “can continue to work if necessary, provided they adopt individual protection measures”.
