A Shanghai hospital warns of the “tragic battle” against the spread of COVID-19: “We cannot escape”

A Shanghai hospital has asked its staff to prepare for a “tragic battle” against the virus. COVID-19He expects half of the city’s 25 million people to be infected by the end of the year as the virus rages through China with virtually no control.

Following widespread protests and a relentless rise in cases, China took a sharp policy turn this month and began to dismantle its “zero contagion” policy, which has entailed a great economic and psychological cost for its 1,400 million inhabitants.

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Even so, China’s official death count since the pandemic began three years ago stands at 5,241a fraction of what most other countries have suffered.

On December 21, for the second day in a row, China reported no new deaths from COVID-19.despite funeral home workers claiming demand has skyrocketed in the past week, prompting increased rates.

The authorities — who have restricted the criteria for determining deaths from COVID-19which has drawn criticism from many disease experts—confirmed 389,306 cases with symptoms.

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Some experts say that official figures have become an unreliable guide, as they Fewer tests are taking place across China following the relaxation of restrictions.

The Shanghai Deji HospitalIn a post on his official WeChat account late on Wednesday, estimated that there were some 5.43 million positives in the city and that 12.5 million in the main commercial node of China they will be infected by the end of the year.

“Christmas Eve, New Year, and Lunar New Year this year will be unsafe,” the hospital stated.

“In this tragic battle, the entire Greater Shanghai will fall and we will infect the entire hospital staff! We will infect the whole family! We will infect all our patients! We have no choice and we cannot escape.”

A worker in a protective suit waits for people to take swab samples to test for the coronavirus disease in Shanghai, China, on December 22, 2022. (REUTERS/Aly Song)

residents of Shanghai They endured a two-month lockdown that ended June 1, with many losing income and no access to basic necessities. Hundreds of people died and hundreds of thousands became infected during those two months.

Experts affirm that China could face more than a million deaths from COVID-19 next yeargiven the relatively low rates of complete vaccination among its elderly, more vulnerable population.

China’s vaccination rate exceeds 90%, but that of adults who have received booster doses drops to 57.9% and 42.3% for those over 80 years of age, according to government data.

At a Beijing hospital, state television CCTV footage showed Rows of elderly patients in the intensive care unit breathing through oxygen masks. It was not clear how many they had COVID-19.

The deputy director of the hospital’s emergency department, Han Xue, told state television CCTV that they were receiving 400 patients a day, four times more than usual.

“These patients are all elderly with underlying diseases, fever and respiratory infections and are in a very serious condition,” Han said.

The director of the World Health Organization expressed concern about the rebound in infections and is supporting the government to focus on vaccinating those most at risk.

He told reporters that the agency needed more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and intensive care unit needs in order to conduct a comprehensive assessment.

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The 180º turn of Chinese policy caught a fragile health system unawares. Hospitals rushed for beds and blood, pharmacies searched for medicines, and authorities built special clinics.

State media said local governments were trying to deal with drug shortages while pharmaceutical companies were working overtime to boost supplies.

Cities across the country were distributing millions of ibuprofen tablets to medical institutions and retail pharmacies, according to an article in the state-run Global Times newspaper.

Some Chinese experts predict that the surge of COVID-19 it will peak at the end of January and that life will return to normal at the end of February or beginning of March.

Source: Elcomercio