Chuiyangliu Hospital, located in the east of the city, was packed with newly arrived patients today, and by mid-morning there were no more beds free, but ambulances kept arriving with more injured people.
Under pressure, nurses and doctors scurried back and forth to get information and sort out the most urgent cases.
The sharp increase in the number of people seeking hospital care came after Chinese authorities lifted their toughest restrictions to combat the COVID-19 pandemic last month, after nearly three years of lockdowns, travel bans and school closures that had devastating consequences for the country’s economy. It sparked unusual street protests in a country that severely suppresses political dissent.
The outbreak caused by another type of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, appears to have spread faster in more densely populated cities first.
Now, authorities are concerned that the new outbreak is reaching smaller towns and rural areas with public health facilities under-resourced.
Today many local governments have begun calling on people not to travel home for the Lunar New Year holiday, showing growing concern about the opening enacted by the central authorities.
Overseas, a growing number of governments are demanding tests from travelers arriving from China, arguing that such tests are necessary because the Chinese government is not sharing enough information about the outbreak.
On Wednesday, the European Union strongly encouraged its member states to mandate COVID-19 tests before boarding passengers, although not all did.
Italy – the first country in Europe in which the epidemic caused a large number of victims and chaos in the health system, at the beginning of 2020 – became the first member state of the European Union to require tests for passengers arriving from China, this week last year, followed by France and Spain. with their own measures.
But the measures in the community block were adopted after the US mandated that anyone traveling from China be given a negative test taken less than 48 hours earlier.
China has criticized such requirements and warned that it will retaliate with measures against countries that impose them.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced on Wednesday that he was concerned about the Chinese government’s failure to provide data on the outbreak of the new epidemic.
Today, at a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning announced that Beijing regularly shares information and data with the international community in an open and transparent manner.
“Currently, the COVID-19 situation in China is under control,” Mao said, adding: “Moreover, we hope the WHO leadership will take a neutral, objective and science-based stance to play a positive role in combating global terrorism.” epidemic.”
Despite local authorities’ concerns about Beijing’s opening decree at a time when millions of people are traveling to celebrate the Lunar New Year, Hong Kong announced it would reopen some of its border crossings into mainland China on Sunday and allow dozens of thousands of people to cross daily without being quarantined. .
Hong Kong’s land and sea border crossings with the mainland have been virtually closed for nearly three years, and their reopening is expected to boost Hong Kong’s tourism and trade sectors.
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