China witnesses overloaded hospitals, crematoriums overburdened as COVID surges across nation
Several videos have been shared on social media with claims that hospitals in China are being overwhelmed due to rising infection cases. In a long Twitter thread, Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist warned of “thermonuclear bad” situation in China as infections grows rapidly across the country.
FollowAfter easing its COVID-19 restrictions earlier this month in response to a wave of complaints from citizens tired of severe lockdowns, mass testing, and quarantines, China is now seeing a sharp increase in coronavirus cases. According to reports, China announced two deaths on December 19—the first confirmed fatalities after the government relaxed pandemic restrictions and abandoned its zero-Covid policy. However, if stories coming out of China are to be believed, the true number of fatalities may be far higher.
By next year, according to researchers, the current spike might result in more than 1 million fatalities in China. According to various media reports, hospitals, funeral houses, and crematoriums in Beijing are having trouble keeping up with demand.
In a lengthy Twitter thread, US-based epidemiologist and health economist Eric Feigl-Ding predicted that during the next 90 days, more than 60% of China's population and 10% of the global population are likely to get infected, with millions of fatalities expected. Chinese people still have a high risk of contracting the virus due to low vaccination rates and little investment in emergency treatment.
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Calling it a “thermonuclear bad” situation in China, Feigl-Ding said the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) goal is “let whoever needs to be infected, infected, let whoever needs to die, die. Early infections, early deaths, early peak, early resumption of production”.
On social media, there are several tweets and videos claiming that hospitals in Beijing are overrun by coronavirus cases as a result of the unexpected increase. According to reports, employees at crematoriums and funeral houses are working longer hours to deal with the increase in Covid fatalities. People who work at one such crematorium, Beijing Dongjiao Crematory, on the eastern outskirts of the Chinese capital, have noticed a dramatic increase in requests for cremation and other funeral services, according to reports.
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The current wave would not be limited to China, according to Feigl-Ding, who is currently in charge of the COVID Task Force at the New England Complex Systems Institute. The surge in COVID cases could lead to a complete shutdown and have a significant negative impact on international trade, he added.
He continued by stating that the overcrowding of mortuaries makes the present cremation scenario in Beijing frightening. "We need refrigerated containers. funerals available round-the-clock. There are 2,000 remains waiting to be cremated. Sounds recognisable? It is once again spring 2020, but this time China is imitating a more Western-style mass infection technique, he claimed.
He claimed that when ibuprofen is entirely out of stock in markets and pharmacies, people are compelled to run to pharmaceutical facilities to get it.
Due to the demonstrations, the Chinese government made a number of sudden changes earlier in the month, dismantling many of the lockdown, testing, and quarantine regimes that had been in place for the previous three years to stop even minor breakouts of the virus.
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