The relaxing of restrictions has caused apprehension in a country where people were taught to fear the disease, and easing compulsory PCR testing has weakened the ability of health authorities to quickly detect cases and gauge the spread.
People line up at a fever clinic of a hospital, after the government gradually loosens the restrictions on the coronavirus disease control, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China December 10, 2022. REUTERS/Martin PollardBAODING, China, Dec 11 - When Li tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday in Baoding in northern China, he braced for a five-day quarantine at a makeshift local hospital as part of the country's strict pandemic controls.
"I couldn't buy any medication at that time, with long queues everywhere outside pharmacies," Li told Reuters. Since easing the curbs, the authorities have not predicted how many people may fall seriously ill or die. In October, China predicted at least 100 deaths for every 100,000 infections.Baoding, home to 9.2 million people, quickly attracted attention on China's Twitter-like Weibo with posts from people with COVID calling attention to understocked medical supplies as infections rose.
"There will certainly be increasing numbers of infections" in coming weeks, regardless of how many are captured in the test numbers, said Ben Cowling, an epidemiologist at Hong Kong University. Severe infections will also increase, he warned. "We were joking that Baoding residents do not need heat as we can warm ourselves up with our own body temperature," she said.The risk of severe illness for those over 65 is five times that of younger people, the risk for people over 75 seven times and nine times for those over 85, while their risk of death is 90, 220 and 570 times higher, respectively, said an official at China's Center for Disease Control.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
China Struggles With COVID Wave After 'Zero-COVID' EasesA rash of COVID-19 cases in schools and businesses were reported by social media users Friday in areas across China after the ruling Communist Party loosened anti-virus rules as it tries to reverse a deepening economic slump.
Read more »
Apple supplier Foxconn's founder pushed China to ease COVID curbs - WSJApple supplier Foxconn's founder Terry Gou had warned China that the government's zero-COVID stance would threaten the position of the world's second-largest economy in the global supply chain, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Read more »
China reports 16,797 new COVID cases for Dec 8 vs 21,439 a day earlierChina reported 16,797 new COVID-19 infections on Dec. 8, of which 3,637 were symptomatic and 13,160 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Friday.
Read more »
As China loosens COVID restrictions, protesters fear retributionLate last month, Shanghai resident Pei was one of many people who came out in support of historic protests against China's COVID-19 curbs, including filming several seconds of footage of a man being arrested on a street corner.
Read more »
China struggles with COVID infections after controls easeBEIJING (AP) — A rash of COVID-19 cases in schools and businesses were reported by social media users Friday in areas across China after the ruling Communist Party loosened anti-virus rules as it tries to reverse a deepening economic slump.
Read more »
China struggles with COVID infections after controls ease | amNewYorkA rash of COVID-19 cases in schools and businesses were reported Friday in areas across China after the ruling Communist Party loosened anti-virus rules as it tries to reverse a deepening economic slump.
Read more »