Zero-Covid to self care: China makes U-turn on policies as hospitals overflow with patients
In a dramatic U-turn of its Covid policy, China lifted its stringent measures that were part of its zero-Covid policy and has turned to re-educating people on the harmlessness of Omicron and pushing the idea of self-care.
China abruptly dropped its zero-tolerance stance last week after protests against its strict Covid control measures.
Meanwhile, medical staff in hospitals are bearing the brunt of the government’s decision as a growing number of doctors and nurses catch the Covid-19 virus as people showing moderate symptoms throng hospitals and clinics. Medical personnel posted on social media that some of them have been asked to keep working despite testing positive for Covid.
Here are the latest developments on the story:
The Chinese government’s measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus has taken a sharp turn from its stringent measures just a week ago. After ending its zero-Covid policy which imposed large scale lockdowns and mandatory quarantine, China is now pushing the idea of self-care and focusing on educating people on the “harmlessness of Omicron”.
Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who is in charge of China’s war on Covid-19 said the Omicron strain had “weakened” even as new cases in Beijing hit a high.
After deciding to stop reporting new asymptomatic Covid infections; news reports, public advisories and media briefings have been assuring people that most will have mild or no symptoms if they are infected and can self-isolate at home. “Be the first person responsible for the epidemic”, is emerging as China’s new public health slogan.
However, the relaxation of the stringent measures does not follow a decrease in Covid infections as a local emergency hotline in Beijing reported over 30,000 calls per day asking for medical assistance.
A doctor at a tertiary hospital in Sichuan province told Reuters, “Our hospital is overwhelmed with patients. There are 700, 800 people with fever coming every day.”
A nurse at another hospital in Chengdu said she was swamped with nearly 200 patients with Covid symptoms in just one night.
Meanwhile, health experts said the sudden loosening of strict Covid rules in China is likely to trigger a surge in severe cases in the coming months, and hospitals in big cities are already showing signs of strain. As people crowd at hospitals and doctors and nurses fall sick, hospitals are running out of medicine stocks for fever and colds.
Meanwhile, in a bid to understand the origins of the virus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on China to share the requested data concerning Covid.
This comes days after a US-based researcher claimed that Covid-19 was a ‘man-made virus’ that leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.