Ahead of Lunar new Year, China prepares for infection surge as zero Covid policy turns messy

Merely a few days after China relaxed some of the strictest Covid-19 containment measures and policies, the authorities are now anticipating a surge in infections.

This is because millions of city-dwellers planned holidays for the first time in years after Beijing abandoned its stringent system of lockdowns and travel curbs. The authorities are now concerned that China is unprepared for the wave of infections to come, reported Reuters.

As China’s retreat from zero Covid-19 policy turned messy, Beijing is now gearing up to vaccinate its most vulnerable people in anticipation of waves of Covid infections. People have resorted to panic-buying and have been rushing to buy ibuprofen, cold medicines and Covid testing kits amid reports of shortages, the BBC said in a report.

Here are the top developments on China Covid
With China’s Lunar New Year holiday, starting on January 22, round the corner, health authorities in China are concerned about the unprecedented new Covid infections, reported Reuters. Rural areas are likely to witness a huge influx of passengers, returning to their hometowns and villages, which have had minimal exposure to the virus ever since the pandemic erupted.

Patients in China were seen receiving intravenous (IV) drips on streets and from their cars to avoid overcrowding clinics and hospitals amid a surge in Covid-19 cases across the country.

Patients in China were seen receiving intravenous (IV) drips on streets and from their cars to avoid overcrowding clinics and hospitals amid a surge in Covid-19 cases across the country pic.twitter.com/FLSK4LImkI — TRT World (@trtworld) December 15, 2022

As the fear of fresh Covid infections loom, China has shifted its focus to vaccinate its most vulnerable population as analysts expect that death toll could soar. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed concerns that 1.4 billion population in China is not adequately vaccinated.

The country has now decided to roll out second booster shot for high-risk groups and elderly people above the age of 60, Reuters reported. National Health Commission spokesperson Mi Feng said it was necessary to accelerate the promotion of vaccinations, according to comments reported by state media.

After the Covid-19 policies were eased, people have resorted to panic buying as products for home remedies are now largely unavailable online. People appear to be panic-buying medicines in anticipation of a winter wave. There has been a massive surge in demand for pain-relief medicines, vitamins and cold/flu drugs, reported China Daily.

The mad rush for tinned peaches prompted one of the country’s largest canned food manufacturers to clarify the remedy doesn’t equate to medicine, reports said. “Go all out” was the message from China’s state asset regulator in a statement late Thursday that urged government-owned drugmakers to ensure supplies of Covid-related medicines.

The World Health Organisation has stated that the explosion of Covid-19 cases in China started before the government’s decision to abandon its strict ‘zero-Covid’ policy. Refuting suggestions that the sudden reversal caused a surge in Covid cases, WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan warned of the need to ramp up vaccinations. Speaking at a briefing with media, he said the virus was spreading “intensively” in the nation long before the lifting of restrictions.

China’s stock markets and its currency fell on Thursday on concerns of the virus spread. Financial firm JP Morgan revised its expectations for China’s 2022 growth to 2.8 per cent, below Beijing’s official target of 5.5 per cent.

As per the analysts, China is gearing for a ‘transitional pain period’ as they expect infections to spike in the months after the Lunar New Year holidays before the economy starts to recover in the middle of 2023.