China facing the Omicron wave since the end of the “zero covid” policy
The Asian giant had abruptly turned around in early December because of an unprecedented wave of protest in the country, against the “
zero covid
” policy carried out by the state for almost three years.
Since the lifting of restrictions, the Covid-19 epidemic has exploded in China.
Its extent is "
impossible
" to determine, by the admission of the authorities, screening tests are no longer mandatory.
The authorities are trying to reassure about the benign nature of the virus despite its contagiousness - contrary to the official discourse since the start of the pandemic.
In several provinces of the country, the Chinese are even allowed to return to work, even with symptoms.
The WHO said it was "
very concerned
" by the explosion in the number of Covid-19 cases in China on Wednesday, December 21.
She therefore called on the Chinese giant to speed up the vaccination of the most vulnerable populations and asked for more detailed information on the severity of the epidemic.
“
WHO is very concerned about the development of the situation in China (...).
In order to carry out a full risk assessment
,” the WHO considers it necessary to obtain “
more detailed information on the severity of the disease, hospital admissions and intensive care unit needs
,” Tedros said. Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during his weekly press conference.
A new method for counting Covid cases
Indeed, despite the epidemic wave, China communicates very little about the situation of hospitals.
It, for example, reported no new deaths linked to Covid-19 on Wednesday, December 21.
The authorities clarified on Tuesday December 20 that only people who died directly from respiratory failure linked to Covid-19 were counted in the statistics.
This “ scientific
” methodology
, according to the authorities, however, paints a more reduced picture of the situation.
"
After an infection with the Omicron variant, the main cause of death (of patients) are underlying diseases
", defended Wang Guiqiang, a Beijing health official on Tuesday.
“
Only a small number die directly from respiratory failure caused by Covid
,” he insisted.
Hospitals overwhelmed in places
How is the country coping?
Videos posted on social media revealed scenes of chaos in Chinese hospitals.
Without being able to fully attest to their veracity, the professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Versailles-Saint-Quentin, Mahmoud Zureik, affirms that the authenticity of these images "
is not impossible, but in certain areas localized
” of China.
"We do not yet have the elements
" to authenticate these scenes or not, he adds cautiously.
"
The Chinese power
[which communicates very little about the reality of the epidemic situation, editor's note]
does not help us
"
,
he also confesses.
Crematoriums are struggling, according to testimonies collected by AFP, without a formal link with the Covid being able to be established.
Some hospitals are overwhelmed, while anti-flu drugs are harder to find in pharmacies in the face of demand as the country learns to live with the virus.
According to official figures, only seven patients have died from Covid since restrictions were lifted in early December.
Medical staff transfer a patient to a fever clinic at a hospital, as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks continue in Shanghai, China December 19, 2022. ALY SONG / REUTERS
Negative forecasts
"
The Chinese authorities are talking about seven deaths
[since the lifting of restrictions
,
editor's note],
it's impossible
,
"
says Mahmoud Zureik.
According to him, some models show a potential number of deaths of up to one or even two million over the next three to six months.
How can this worrying situation and the very negative projections be explained?
By a low rate of vaccination of fragile people and almost zero immunity linked to previous infections with Covid-19, explain several specialists.
According to official information reported by Reuters, the vaccination rate among people aged 80 and over is only 42.3%.
Figures to be taken with great hindsight, due to the lack of independent information from the Chinese government available.
The third peak will occur between late February and mid-March when those infected during the holidays return to their workplaces, Wu Zunyou said, according to comments reported by the Caijing business daily.
Preferred path: vaccination
Dr. Michael Ryan, the WHO official in charge of managing health emergencies, thus insisted at length on the need for more vaccinations.
“
We have been saying for weeks that this highly contagious virus has always been very difficult to completely stop with only public health and social measures
,” Dr. Ryan recalled on Wednesday, emphasizing the importance of vaccination.
An elderly woman receives a vaccine against COVID-19 in Danzhai, in the southwest province of Guizhou, China, on December 21, 2022. STR / AFP
“
We really need to focus on vaccination.
That said, China has made considerable progress over the past few weeks in the distribution of vaccines
,” he continued.
"
Vaccination is the exit strategy against a wave of Omicron
," he said.
This variant of the original virus which appeared a little over a year ago is the most contagious.