China reports 1 million daily cases of Covid in Zhejiang and expects to double

The Chinese province of Zhejianga large industrial city near Shanghaiis struggling with around a million new cases of Covid-19a figure that is expected to double in the coming days, the provincial government reported on Sunday.

Despite an unprecedented rise in cases across the country, China has not recorded any Covid deaths on the mainland in the five days to Saturday, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Sunday.

Citizens and experts have called for more accurate data as infections have risen, after Beijing introduced sweeping changes to a zero-Covid policy that had subjected hundreds of millions of its citizens to incessant lockdowns and had hit the world’s second largest economy.

China’s national figures had become incomplete as the National Health Commission had stopped reporting asymptomatic infections, making it difficult to track cases. On Sunday, the Commission stopped reporting the daily figures, which were later published by the China CDC.

Zhejiang is among the few areas that have estimated their recent spikes in infections, including asymptomatic cases.

“It is estimated that the peak of infections will reach Zhejiang earlier and enter a peak period around New Year’s Day, during which the daily number of new infections will be up to 2 million,” the Zhejiang government said in a statement. a statement.

Zhejiang, with a population of 65.4 million, stated that among the 13,583 infected being treated in hospitals in the province, one patient had severe symptoms caused by Covid, while 242 infections in serious and critical condition were caused by underlying diseases.

China narrowed its definition for reporting deaths from Covid, counting only those due to pneumonia or respiratory failure caused by Covid, sparking skepticism among world health experts.

The World Health Organization has not received data from China on new Covid hospitalizations since Beijing eased its restrictions. According to the organization, the lack of data could be due to the difficulty of the authorities to count the cases in the most populous country in the world.

The most dangerous weeks

“China is entering the most dangerous weeks of the pandemic,” states a Capital Economics research note. “Authorities are making virtually no effort now to curb the spread of infections and, with the start of pre-Lunar New Year migration, any part of the country not currently in a major Covid surge will be soon.” .

The cities of Qingdao and Dongguan have each estimated tens of thousands of daily Covid infections in recent times, far higher than the national daily figure without asymptomatic cases.

The country’s healthcare system has come under enormous strain, with staff being asked to work while sick and even retired medical staff from rural communities being rehired to help with grassroots work, according to media reports. state communication.

The proximity of the Lunar New Year in January, when large numbers of people return to their homes, adds to the urgency.

Visits to Zhejiang clinics reached 408,400 daily -14 times normal levels- in the past week, a Zhejiang official told a news conference.

Daily requests to the emergency center in Zhejiang’s capital Hangzhou have recently more than tripled on average from last year’s level, state television reported on Sunday, citing a Hangzhou health official.

The eastern city of Suzhou said late on Saturday that its hotline received a record 7,233 calls on Thursday.