China’s COVID wave with hospital morgues but zero official deaths amid medicine shortage, empty oxygen tanks, and body bags.
With 37 million COVID cases in one day, China’s COVID wave is sending shock waves over the world as experts have detected that the cataclysmic new COVID surge has been caused by the BF.7 strain of the Omicron variant in the country, raising concerns for India as well.
The shocking news is running that there are no more beds inside the Chongqing Medical University Hospital, and the elderly are starting to lie on the floor. The machines that are on the chests are used to replace the human hand to press the heart.
There are no more beds inside the #Chongqing Medical University Hospital, and the elderly are starting to lie on the floor. The machines that are on the chests are used to replace the human hand to press the heart. #chinacovid #ChinaCovidCases #China pic.twitter.com/gu735rjhmL
— Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng 曾錚真言 (@jenniferzeng97) December 21, 2022
Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, epidemiologist and health economist shared the disturbing visuals of a top Beijing hospital tweeting:
Fever meds shortage, oxygen tanks EMPTY, 🏥 overwhelmed, blood shortage, death tolls soaring among elderly ==>lots of body bags—even at a top Beijing hospital too. Worsening #COVID19 yet to come. But still 0 official deaths.
2) And I want to remind folks that Beijing has some of the best hospitals in 🇨🇳. And yet, at this “top tier level A” hospital, they still ran out of beds and oxygen tanks. This story is harrowing—the patient died within 15 minutes of ICU arrival.
3) if you count the body bags, there are 35 shown alone. Other reports have shown even more. And workers say in other interviews that they are all COVID deaths.
4) Chinese govt’s own chief epidemiologist says the worst is yet to come. And workers moving dead bodies in the video say they are all COVID deaths. Crematoriums also are overloaded.
Overflowing hospital morgues—Fever meds shortage, oxygen tanks EMPTY, 🏥 overwhelmed, blood shortage, death tolls soaring among elderly ==>lots of body bags—even at a top Beijing hospital too. Worsening #COVID19 yet to come. But still 0 official deaths.
🧵pic.twitter.com/Zy7TtidU8U— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) December 24, 2022
China’s COVID cases have registered a sudden spike, with visuals emerging of Covid dead bodies piling up in mortuaries, and of overcrowded hospitals. The surge comes after a rare massive protest led to the Xi Jinping government easing the stringent curbs under the ‘Zero COVID policy’.
There are no more beds inside the #Chongqing Medical University Hospital, and the elderly are starting to lie on the floor. The machines that are on the chests are used to replace the human hand to press the heart.
There are no more beds inside the #Chongqing Medical University Hospital, and the elderly are starting to lie on the floor. The machines that are on the chests are used to replace the human hand to press the heart. #chinacovid #ChinaCovidCases #China pic.twitter.com/gu735rjhmL
— Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng 曾錚真言 (@jenniferzeng97) December 21, 2022
This is quite similar to India’s deathly second wave of COVID with no oxygen, scarcity of medicines, and overflowing crematoriums and cemeteries. Why is it that COVID surged again after the protest? How long with China be under a lockdown? Would it be even wise to visit China now with the Chinese government relaxing the zero lockdown policy?
According to some estimates, China is running the risk of around 2 million deaths because of the recent rise in Covid-19 cases. One epidemiologist’s viral tweet revealed that 60% of the country’s population could end up being infected over the course of the next few months.
The Mosque at Niu Street （牛街) in #Beijing is used to store bodies. “All are bodies here. There are more inside. What can we do?” The man shooting the video asks. #ChinaCovidCases #chinacovid #ChinaCovidSurge #ChinaCovidDeaths #ChinaCovidNightmare #ChinaCovidNews pic.twitter.com/wRqEU7vCbD
— Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng 曾錚真言 (@jenniferzeng97) December 25, 2022
Don’t know exactly when or where. The lady recording this has an Wuxi accent. She is exclaiming how many bodies are here, this never happened before, etc.
Wuxi is a city in #Jiangsu Province #China, not far from #Shanghai #chinacovid #ChinaCovidNightmare #ChinaCovidDeaths pic.twitter.com/DBW1DrWMZV— Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng 曾錚真言 (@jenniferzeng97) December 24, 2022
What is the BF.7 Variant?
The BF.7 variant of coronavirus can spread from an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing or breathe. These particles vary from larger respiratory droplets to smaller aerosols. It is necessary to practice respiratory decorum, for example by coughing into a flexed elbow, and to stay home and self-isolate until you recover if you feel unwell.
Most people infected with the virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. However, some will become seriously ill and require medical attention.
Symptoms
The most common symptoms are fever, cough, tiredness, and loss of taste or smell. The less common symptoms are sore throat, headache, aches, and pains, diarrhea, a rash on the skin, discoloration of fingers or toes, and red or irritated eyes. Serious symptoms include difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, loss of speech or mobility, confusion, and chest pain.
How to protect yourself?
The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well-informed about the disease and how the virus spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by staying at least 1 meter apart from others, wearing a properly fitted mask, and washing your hands or using an alcohol-based rub frequently. Get vaccinated when it’s your turn and follow local guidance. Choose open, well-ventilated spaces over closed ones. Open a window if indoors.
How will it affect Indians?
Four cases of the BF.7 variant have been detected in India, so far. Two cases have been registered from Gujarat and two from Odisha. This sub-variant has already been detected in several other countries including Germany, Belgium, France, Denmark, The US, and the UK.
It is said Indians may not be as drastically affected as it is currently prevailing in China as India has already developed “herd immunity” a top official of CSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) here said.
Vinay K Nandicoori, Director CCMB, stressing the need to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour, said there is always a concern that all these variants have the ability to escape the immunity and can infect people who are vaccinated and even sometimes infected with the previous variants of Omicron.