Beijing –
Hospitals and funeral homes in China they are under great pressure as the rising tide of Corona or COVID-19 drains their resources. Additionally, the scale of the outbreak and doubts about official data have prompted several countries to consider new travel rules for visitors China.
Reported Reuters, on Wednesday (12/28/2022), China actually started to roll back the toughest COVID-19 restrictions in the world. The easing came after tight restrictions hit the Chinese economy hard.
International health experts believed that the lifting of restrictions, which came after widespread protests, allowed COVID to spread uncontrollably across large parts of the world and likely infect millions of people every day in China. China’s easing measures have overwhelmed its fragile health care system.
China reported three new COVID-related deaths on Tuesday (12/27). That number was up from one dead the previous day. However, the figure was found to be inconsistent with reports from funeral homes in China.
Staff at Huaxi, a large hospital in the southwestern city of Chengdu, said they were “very busy” with COVID patients.
“I’ve been doing this job for 30 years and it’s the most demanding job I’ve ever known,” said an ambulance driver outside the hospital who declined to be named.
There were long lines in and out of the hospital emergency room and at the adjacent fever clinic late Tuesday evening. Most of those who arrived by ambulance were given oxygen to help them breathe.
“Nearly all patients have COVID,” said one of the emergency room pharmacy staff.
Hospitals do not stock COVID-specific medicines and can only supply medicines for symptoms such as coughs. The parking lots around the Dongjiao Funeral Home, one of the largest in Chengdu, were also full. The funeral procession was steady as smoke billowed from the crematorium.
“We now have to do this about 200 times a day,” said a cemetery official.
“We are so busy, we don’t even have time to eat. This has been happening since we opened. Before, it was around 30-50 a day. Many have died from COVID,” another worker said.
At another crematorium in Chengdu, which is privately owned by Nanling, staff were similarly busy.
“There have been so many COVID deaths lately. The cremation slots are all full. You can’t get them until the new year,” said one worker.
China says it only counts COVID patient deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as COVID-related.
Zhang Yuhua, an official at Beijing’s Chaoyang Hospital, said most of the recent patients were elderly and seriously ill with underlying diseases. He said the number of patients receiving emergency care has increased to 450-550 a day, from about 100 previously, according to state media.
Nurses and doctors have been asked to work while sick and retired health workers in rural communities have been redeployed to help. Several cities have struggled with drug shortages.
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