BEIJING听–听叠别颈箩颈苍驳听faces a听蝉耻谤驳别听in听蝉别惫别谤别听COVID-19听肠补蝉别蝉听over the next two weeks, a respiratory expert said,聽amid听肠辞苍肠别谤苍s over the potential toll and聽knock-on effects for the听飞辞谤濒诲听economy after the surprise ditching of China’s tough virus policies.
Following widespread protests, the country of 1.4 billion people this month began dismantling its “zero-COVID” regime of lockdowns and testing that had largely kept the virus away for three years, at great economic and psychological costs.
The easing coincided with a jump in听颁翱痴滨顿听肠补蝉别蝉听that experts say will likely gather pace through winter, with projections suggesting China could face more than a million deaths next year.
China, which uses a narrow definition of what can be classified as听颁翱痴滨顿听fatalities, reported no new听颁翱痴滨顿听deaths for Dec. 20, compared with five the previous day.
The nation’s overall fatalities since the pandemic began were revised to 5,241 after removing one death in听叠别颈箩颈苍驳.
That number might rise sharply in the near future, with state-run Global Times citing a leading Chinese respiratory expert predicting a spike in听蝉别惫别谤别听肠补蝉别蝉听in the capital over the coming weeks.
“We must act quickly and prepare fever clinics, emergency and听蝉别惫别谤别听treatment resources,” Wang Guangfa, a respiratory expert from Peking University First Hospital, told the newspaper.
厂别惫别谤别听肠补蝉别蝉听rose by 53 across China on Tuesday, versus an increase of 23 the previous day. China does not provide absolute figures of听蝉别惫别谤别听cases.
Wang expects the听颁翱痴滨顿听wave to peak in late January, with life likely to return to normal by end-February or early March.
INTERNATIONAL听颁翱狈颁贰搁狈S
Amid doubts over China’s聽tiny听颁翱痴滨顿听death toll by global standards, the National Health Commission on Tuesday clarified only people whose death is caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting the virus are classified as听颁翱痴滨顿听deaths.
Benjamin Mazer, an assistant professor of pathology at Johns Hopkins University, said that classification would miss “a lot of听肠补蝉别蝉,” especially as people who are vaccinated, including with the Chinese shots, are less likely to die of pneumonia.
Blood clots,聽heart problems聽and sepsis – an extreme body response to infection – have caused countless deaths among听颁翱痴滨顿听patients around the听飞辞谤濒诲.
“It doesn’t make sense to apply this sort of March 2020 mindset where it’s only听颁翱痴滨顿听pneumonia that can kill you, when we know that in the post-vaccine era, there’s all sorts of medical complications,” Mazer said.
The NHC also played down听肠辞苍肠别谤苍s raised by the United States and some epidemiologists over the potential for the virus to mutate, saying the possibility of new strains that are more pathogenic is low.
Paul Tambyah, President of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection, supported that view.
“I do not think that this is a threat to the听飞辞谤濒诲,” he said. “The chances are that the virus will behave like every other human virus and adapt to the environment in which it circulates by becoming more transmissible and less virulent.”
Several leading scientists and听奥辞谤濒诲听Health Organization advisors told Reuters it may be聽聽to declare the end of the global听颁翱痴滨顿听pandemic emergency phase because of a potentially devastating wave to come in China.
Last week, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “hopeful” of an end to the emergency some time next year.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The United States on Tuesday聽聽it stands ready to assist China with its outbreak, warning an uncontrolled spread in the听飞辞谤濒诲‘s second-largest economy may have implications for global growth.
A major near-term听肠辞苍肠别谤苍聽for economists is the impact a听蝉耻谤驳别听in infections might have on factory output and logistics as workers and truck drivers fall ill.
The听奥辞谤濒诲听Bank on Tuesday聽聽for this year and next, citing the abrupt loosening of听颁翱痴滨顿听measures among other factors.
The full effects of ditching “zero-COVID” remain highly uncertain given China’s patchy vaccine coverage, fragile health system and extent of infections.
Cities are ramping up efforts to expand intensive care units and build special clinics. Some hospitals have become inundated, and some cities are dealing with medicine and blood shortages.
Still, some local governments continue to relax rules to levels.
Staff at the Communist Party and government institutions or enterprises in the southwestern city of Chongqing who have mild听颁翱痴滨顿听symptoms can go to work if they wear a mask, state-run China Daily reported.
Other Chinese media reported similar moves in several cities across different provinces. – Reuters
