The Paradox of With-Corona in China... Confirmed Cases Plummet While Emergency Calls Surge on the Ground

Reducing Testing Sites and Lifting Mandatory Testing... Official Confirmed Cases Drop Below 10,000
Sudden Easing of Quarantine Leads to Medicine Stockpiling on Site
Authorities Distribute Health Kits and Emphasize "Flu-Level" to Calm the Situation

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] The number of new COVID-19 cases in China has sharply dropped below 10,000 for the first time in over a month. However, this is due to the reduction of official PCR tests by closing frontline testing sites, while in reality, confirmed cases are rapidly increasing and related emergency calls are flooding in.

According to the National Health Commission of China on the 12th, the total number of confirmed cases across 31 provinces was 8,626 (6,455 asymptomatic) as of the previous day, falling below 10,000 for the first time since the 9th of last month (8,824 cases). However, this is only the official announcement, and the actual number of confirmed cases is reportedly rising rapidly.

After the abolition of PCR testing and the allowance of home treatment, Chinese people are extremely reluctant to go outside and stay at home, conducting self-tests using rapid antigen kits. It is known that confirmed cases have surged during this process, but related figures are not officially compiled.

According to Beijing Daily, the number of COVID-19-related emergency calls to Beijing’s emergency hotline (120) has surged from the usual 5,000 to over 30,000. Chinese disease control experts estimate that the spread of COVID-19 will peak within a month. Dr. Chen Zi, chief physician at Beijing Emergency Center, told the newspaper, "There are very limited resources to respond to emergency calls and dispatch ambulances," and appealed, "Asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 patients should not call the 120 hotline."

Chinese media Pengpai also reported that several medical institutions in Shanghai have created 'buffer zones' and 'isolation wards' to respond to outpatients and emergency patients. For emergency patients, PCR negative proof is not required, and after emergency measures are taken and the condition improves, patients are sent to isolation wards or general wards depending on COVID-19 infection status.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Chinese people, unfamiliar with the situation where even confirmed cases must self-isolate and treat themselves with existing cold medicines and antipyretics, are seen hoarding medicines and becoming confused. Some pharmacies are experiencing shortages of related medicines. According to the People’s Daily, to ease anxiety, local governments in Fujian Province, Anhui Province, Jiangsu Province, Hubei Province, and others have started distributing 'health kits' free of charge to the elderly, consisting of essential medicines, rapid antigen kits, masks, thermometers, and vitamin C.

State media, citing experts, have begun efforts to downplay COVID-19 by saying it is not much different from the flu. Jeong Gwang, former chief infectious disease expert at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told the state-run Global Times (GT), "COVID-19 will soon be downgraded to a Class C infectious disease," emphasizing, "We must have confidence in returning to normal life." Currently, COVID-19 in China is classified as a Class A management disease under Class B infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and SARS. Class C infectious diseases have high incidence rates but mostly mild or asymptomatic infections with low fatality rates.

Tong Zhaohui, a respiratory severe disease expert from the State Council’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism, also explained through local media, "Recently, after Omicron infection, upper respiratory symptoms mainly appear as throat discomfort and cough," adding, "More than 90% are asymptomatic or mild cases, with fewer general pneumonia cases and even fewer severe cases."

Meanwhile, following the health code, the 'administrative code,' which caused the greatest inconvenience for interregional travel in China, will also be discontinued starting from the 13th. The official WeChat account of the administrative code announced on the same day that it will officially suspend related services to more thoroughly implement the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council’s optimized prevention and control measures.