filling up amid fears of a new Covid-19 outbreak.
Despite officials’ claims that numbers are “relatively low,” Dr. Michael Ryan says intensive care units (ICU) are busy.
On Wednesday, no one died from Covid in China, but experts are sceptical about the disease’s true impact.
As the latest Covid surge hits China, hospitals in Beijing and other cities have been filling up.
China has imposed strict health restrictions as part of its zero Covid policy since 2020.
However, following historic protests against the strict controls, the government repealed the majority of those measures two weeks ago.
Since then, the number of cases has skyrocketed, raising concerns about a high mortality rate among the elderly, who are especially vulnerable.
Despite the increase, only five people died from Covid on Tuesday and two on Monday, according to official figures.
‘Everyone I know has a fever,’ says Covid as he arrives in China.
As a result, WHO emergencies chief Dr Ryan has urged China to provide more information about the virus’s latest spread.
He stated: “In China, the reported number of cases in ICUs is relatively low, but anecdotally, ICUs are filling up.
“We’ve been saying for weeks that this highly infectious virus was always going to be extremely difficult to completely eradicate with only public health and social measures.”
During a weekly news conference in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed “great concern” about the evolving situation in China.
He requested specific information on disease severity, hospital admissions, and intensive care needs.
Dr. Ryan went on to say “Vaccination is necessary.
