Three years after the first case of death from Covid, China faces the peak of the epidemic

First modification: 01/11/2023 – 12:38

Nerea Hernández, RFI correspondent in Beijing.

Three years have passed since the first death from COVID-19 occurred in Wuhan. Today, China faces its biggest wave of infections from the disease since the beginning of the epidemic in 2020, as the Spring Festival begins, the largest human migration in the world in which millions of Chinese return to their homes to celebrate Chinese New Year and family reunions.

Without reliable data that illustrates the real dimension of those infected by the disease or those killed by Covid, citizens try to learn to live with the disease and take advantage of the freedom they have regained to travel and meet their families, something that many had been doing for three years. without being able to do it due to the strict closure maintained by the Chinese Government.

The opening of the borders has encouraged many Chinese to leave the country, while Beijing strongly criticizes the restrictions that some countries now impose on travelers from the Asian giant. It seems to have forgotten three years of very strict requirements and long quarantines implemented by China for anyone returning to the country, in addition to the cancellation of tourist, study and trade visas.

In Beijing, normality is gaining ground and it seems that the peak of infections of this first wave has been exceeded. Although the emergencies and fever clinics continue to leave moving images of the elderly on stretchers receiving oxygen. There is still saturation and, although the hospitals seem half empty, in the emergency rooms we find people sleeping on makeshift beds and sick people waiting for hours to be treated.

Now, the greatest concern is in rural areas, in the center and west of the country, where the waves are arriving a few weeks late, but where it is feared that the damage could be greater due to poor accessibility and lack of medical resources. .

Medical teams from other provinces and volunteers travel to the most remote towns and counties. Also, the authorities have given instructions not to close the drug factories, in order to guarantee a correct supply in the face of a rebound in infections.

Large cities can ride out the wave without excessive casualties, but it remains to be seen what will happen in many corners of China that, despite having had three years to prepare, expect the worst of the pandemic scenarios in the midst of the festivities and with disadvantages obvious resources.