Panic in China due to the coronavirus: “Difficult times are coming” WHO warns

On alert because of it coronavirus is found again China with the World Health Organization warning that “difficult times are coming” and cases registering a rapid increase.

“It is now impossible to estimate the true numbers of infections» admitted the Ministry of Health, as well tests are no longer mandatory after the country’s sudden easing of health measures.

THE World Health Organisation for his part warned that China has “very difficult” times ahead, while state media reported that covid patients were in serious condition in hospitals in Beijing.

Last Wednesday, China announced sweeping changes to testing and quarantine rules, following strong protests over mass lockdowns that had an impact on citizens’ mental health, but also limited the spread of the coronavirus.

Many Beijing residents have rushed in recent days to stock up on self-tests and antipyretics or drugs to treat the flu, emptying pharmacy shelves, a situation that has led to the creation of an online black market.

The market regulator fined a company in Beijing 300,000 yuan (41,000 euros) for selling the self-tests at a price it deemed excessive, according to the Beijing News newspaper.

On the Baidu search engine, searches for the keyword “ibuprofen,” an antipyretic drug, have increased by 430% in one week.

However, the government, which has long defended the “zero covid” policy, seems determined not to back down and continue to open the country.

Tourism authorities in Beijing announced yesterday, Tuesday, the resumption of tourist trips to and from the capital.

But the wave of the epidemic, which is considered certain to spread beyond Beijing, may put a lot of pressure on the country’s health system.

Another img of concern is the elderly, millions of whom have not been vaccinated against covid, either by personal choice or because they failed to get to a vaccination center.