Even with the growth of cases, China chooses not to use an app that tracks Covid-19

China is bracing for an unprecedented wave of Covid-19 cases as it rolls back much of its repressive zero-tolerance policy, with a leading expert warning that Omicron variants were “spreading rapidly” and signs of an outbreak shaking the nation’s capital.

The changes continued on Monday (12), when authorities announced the deactivation of the health tracking function of the “mobile itinerary card” planned for the following day.

The system, separate from the health code scanning platform still required in a small number of places in China, used people’s cell phone data to track their travel history over the last 14 days, in an attempt to identify those who had been on a trip. city ​​with zones designated as “high risk” by the authorities.

It has been a sticking point for many Chinese people, including over concerns about data collection and its use by local governments to ban entry to anyone who has visited a “high-risk zone” city, even if they did not go to those areas within of this city.

But as the dismantling of parts of the Covid-zero infrastructure progresses, there are questions about how the country’s health system will handle a mass outbreak.

Over the weekend, some businesses were closed in Beijing and the city’s streets were mostly deserted as residents fell ill or feared catching the virus. The largest crowds of public seen were outside pharmacies and Covid-19 testing booths.

The China Youth Daily newspaper documented hours-long queues at a clinic in central Beijing on Friday and cited unnamed experts urging residents not to visit hospitals unless necessary.

Healthcare workers in the capital were also experiencing a surge in emergency calls, including from many Covid-positive residents with mild or no symptoms.

A hospital official Saturday appealed to residents in such cases not to call the city’s emergency services hotline, similar to 911, to keep it free for the seriously ill.

The daily volume of emergency calls has increased from its usual 5,000 to more than 30,000 in recent days, Chen Zhi, chief physician of the Beijing Emergency Center, was quoted as saying by official media.

Covid was “spreading rapidly” driven by highly transmissible Omicron variants in China, a leading Covid-19 expert, Zhong Nanshan, said in an interview published by state media on Saturday.

“No matter how strong prevention and control is, it will be difficult to completely cut the transmission chain,” said Zhong, who has been an important public voice since the early days of the pandemic in 2020, according to Xinhua.

Changes and concerns

The rapid reversal of testing across the country and the shift of many people to using antigen tests at home has also made it difficult to assess the extent of spread, with official data now looking meaningless.

Authorities reported 8,626 cases of Covid-19 across China on Sunday, down from the previous day’s tally of 10,597 and a high of more than 40,000 daily cases late last month. CNN’s report from Beijing indicates that the case count in the Chinese capital could be much higher than reported.

A note seen on a residential building in Beijing is indicative of the broader situation, saying: “Due to the severe epidemic situation of the past few days, the number of staff who can come to work is seriously insufficient, and the normal operation of the apartment has been hampered.”

The country is just days away from a major relaxation of its longstanding anti-Covid measures, which has come as a mind-boggling shift for many Chinese living under tight government controls and fueled a long-standing narrative about Covid’s lethality. -19.

Last Wednesday, top health officials made a sweeping reversal of the mass testing, centralized quarantine and health code tracking rules they relied on to control viral spread.

Some aspects of these measures, such as the use of the health code in designated places and the central quarantine of severe cases, as well as the home isolation of cases, remain.

Outside experts have warned that China may be unprepared to deal with the expected surge in cases, after the surprise lifting of its measures following nationwide protests against the policy, rising case numbers and rising economic costs.

While Omicron can cause relatively milder infections compared to earlier variants, even a small number of severe cases can have a significant impact on the health care system in a country of 1.4 billion.

Zhong, in the state media interview, said the government’s top priority now should be boosting vaccines, especially for the elderly and others most at risk, especially with the Lunar New Year coming up next month — a peak time when urban residents visit elderly relatives and return to rural cities.

Health authorities on Sunday ordered improvements in medical capacities in rural areas by the end of the month.

Measures to be taken include increasing wards and ICU beds, strengthening medical staff for intensive care and setting up more fever clinics, China’s National Health Commission said in a statement.

“Overkill”

Meanwhile, experts have warned that a lack of experience with the virus – and years of state media coverage focusing on its dangers and impact abroad, before a recent change in tone – could lead those not in critical need to seek out medical care, even more oppressive. systems.

Bob Li, a graduate student in Beijing who tested positive on Friday, said he wasn’t afraid of the virus, but his mother, who lives in the countryside, stayed up all night worrying about it. “She finds the virus a very, very scary thing,” Li said.

“I think most people in rural China might have some misunderstandings about the virus, which might come from the overestimation of this virus by the state over the past two years. That’s one of the reasons why people are so afraid,” she said, adding that she still supports the government’s careful handling of Covid-19 during the pandemic.

There are clear efforts to curb public concern about Covid-19 — and its knock-on effects, such as panic-buying medication.

China’s market regulator said on Friday there had been a “temporary shortage” of some “highly sold” drugs and vowed to crack down on price gouging, while major online retailer JD.com said last week that was taking steps to ensure stable supplies after sales of certain drugs increased 18-fold that week over the same period in October.

A trending hashtag on China’s highly moderate social media platform Weibo over the weekend featured an interview with state media with a Beijing doctor saying that people who tested positive for Covid-19 but had no or mild symptoms , they did not need to take medication to recover.

“People with asymptomatic infections do not need medication. It’s enough to rest at home, maintain good mood and physical condition,” said Li Tongzeng, chief physician of infectious diseases at Beijing You An Hospital, in an interview linked to a hashtag viewed more than 370 million times since Friday. fair.

Yong Xiong, Nectar Gan, Xiaofei Xu and Cheng Cheng from CNN contributed to this report.