China records first deaths since restrictions lifted by covid-19

China recorded its first deaths Monday (19) since it relaxed strict measures under its “covid zero” policy, as hospitals and crematoriums in Beijing flooded with an unprecedented wave of cases.

The Asian giant took a radical turn in early December and lifted most of its health restrictions. They have been in effect for almost three years since the first cases of coronavirus were detected in the city of Wuhan (centre).

After the restrictions were lifted, the covid-19 epidemic broke out in China. But authorities admit it’s “impossible” to determine the extent of screening tests as they are no longer mandatory.

Millions of elderly and vulnerable people are yet to be vaccinated, while experts worry that the country is caught off guard with the wave of infections linked to this reopening.

Officials on Monday reported that two patients had died in Beijing, the only death so far since restrictions were lifted on December 7, according to official data.

Since then, the capital and its 22 million inhabitants have been particularly affected by a wave of contagion not seen since the beginning of the pandemic and spreading rapidly in recent days.

Hospital deaths are on the rise, crematoriums are becoming more and more overcrowded, and pharmacies are running short of cold medicines.

“The (official) numbers don’t tell the whole story,” said Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious disease specialist in Singapore, adding that he expected a much higher number.

That’s why, while some hospitals are full and can’t take new patients, the importance of covid-19 may have been minimized by health workers.

Consequently, if someone dies from covid “from a heart attack” after the stress of an infection, “then the heart attack will be the main (retained) cause of death, even if the underlying cause is covid,” he told AFP. .

“Three Waves”

Since the restrictions were lifted, authorities have tried to reassure the public. Contrary to official rhetoric since the beginning of the epidemic and despite the high level of transmission of the virus, they now claim that it is benign.

Chongqing municipality (southwest) and Zhejiang province, which borders Shanghai, have decided that people with mild symptoms can “continue to work” as long as they take “preventive measures”.

Wu Zunyou, one of the country’s leading epidemiologists, warned that China faces the “first of three waves” of covid-19 expected for this winter (summer in Brazil).

The current wave is expected to last until mid-January, affecting mostly cities, before travel related to the Lunar New Year holiday (January 22) triggers a second wave in February.

The third peak will occur between late February and mid-March, when people infected during the holidays return to their workplaces, Wu told business newspaper Caijing.