The bleak images from hospitals and figures from funeral homes do not match the government’s official update on cases and deaths
The concerns of the international community about the new outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in China are constantly increasing as the desperate images from the country’s hospitals and the data from the funeral homes do not keep up with the official information of the government about cases and deaths.
After the end of the “zero tolerance” (zero COVID) policy – following unprecedented protests against the draconian measures – the virus is spreading virtually unchecked and possibly infecting millions of people a day, according to some foreign experts.
Hospitals and funeral homes have been overwhelmed in China but – according to official statistics – China recorded just three new deaths from complications of COVID yesterday, Tuesday.
The hospitals are full and without medicine – the crematoria are constantly “burning”.
Staff at Huaxi, a large hospital in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, said they are “extremely busy” caring for COVID patients. “I’ve been doing this job for 30 years and it’s the busiest time I’ve ever been,” said an ambulance driver outside the hospital.
There were long queues at the hospital’s emergency department and fever clinic last night. Most of those who got there were given oxygen to help them breathe better.
“Almost all patients have COVID,” said a pharmacy staff member in the emergency department. According to her, the hospital’s stocks of specific preparations for COVID have been exhausted and patients can be given medicines for symptoms such as cough.
The car parks around Dongjiao Funeral Home, one of the largest in Chengdu, were full. Memorial services are held one after the other while smoke rises from the crematorium.
“We have to do this around 200 times a day now,” said one of the workers. “We are so busy that we don’t even have time to eat. This has been happening since the measures were relaxed. Before it was around 30-50 times a day.”
New travel restrictions
In the face of the new outbreak of the epidemic in China and fearing a new global spread, some governments are considering additional travel restrictions for Chinese travelers.
The US government is considering imposing new measures on travelers arriving in the country from China, amid concerns over Beijing’s “lack of transparent data” on the course of the novel coronavirus pandemic, US officials said. who were not named, to Reuters and Bloomberg news agencies on Tuesday.
India, Taiwan and Japan will require a negative COVID test for travelers from mainland China, with those testing positive in Japan having to spend a week in quarantine.
Tokyo also plans to put restrictions on airlines that want to increase flights to China. The Philippines is also considering the imposition of diagnostic tests.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
