Covid scare: This province in China sees 'sharp rise' in cases, over 60% people test positive

Beijing: Over 60 per cent of people surveyed in the Chinese province of Sichuan have tested positive for Covid-19, NHK World reported citing a recent survey. The authorities in Sichuan province conducted an online survey where 158,500 people participated and 63 per cent said their PCR or antigen test results came back positive. The province has a population of approximately 83 million.

Meanwhile, the Sichuan Center for Disease Control and Prevention said the true percentage of infected people was likely higher, since nearly 30 per cent of those who did not undergo any tests complained of symptoms such as fever and cough, according to NHK World.

The surge in cases comes after China relaxed its coronavirus containment measures on December 7.The Chinese media said that the fever medications and antigen test kits are sold out or their prices are surging in parts of Shandong and Yunnan provinces, as per NHK World.

Meanwhile, cases have surged since China largely dismantled its zero-tolerance policy towards the coronavirus in recent weeks, inducing nationwide shortages of test kits and medication.

The intensity and magnitude of the country`s first nationwide outbreak have remained largely a mystery as official figures from the central government remain low, reported The New York Times (NYT).

The government has a narrow definition of which deaths should count as caused by Covid. Anecdotal evidence, like social media postings of hospital morgues overcrowded with body bags, is quickly taken down by censors. Now, a picture is emerging of the virus spreading like wildfire. One province and three cities have reported Covid estimates far exceeding official tallies in recent days, reported NYT reported.

China races to vaccinate elderly, but many are reluctant

The Chinese authorities are going door to door and paying people older than 60 to get vaccinated against COVID-19. But even as cases surge, 64-year-old Li Liansheng said his friends are alarmed by stories of fevers, blood clots and other side effects.

“When people hear about such incidents, they may not be willing to take the vaccines,” said Li, who had been vaccinated before he caught COVID-19. A few days after his 10-day bout with the virus, Li is nursing a sore throat and cough. He said it was like a ‘normal cold’ with a mild fever.

China has joined other countries in treating cases instead of trying to stamp out virus transmission by dropping or easing rules on testing, quarantines and movement as it tries to reverse an economic slump. But the shift has flooded hospitals with feverish, wheezing patients.

The National Health Commission announced a campaign on November 29 to raise the vaccination rate among older Chinese, which health experts say is crucial to avoiding a health care crisis. It's also the biggest hurdle before the ruling Communist Party can lift the last of the world's most stringent antivirus restrictions.

China kept case numbers low for two years with a 'zero-COVID' strategy that isolated cities and confined millions of people to their homes. Now, as it backs off that approach, it is facing the widespread outbreaks that other countries have already gone through.

The health commission has recorded only six COVID-19 fatalities this month, bringing the country's official toll to 5,241. That is despite multiple reports by families of relatives dying.

China only counts deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official COVID-19 toll, a health official said last week. That unusually narrow definition excludes many deaths other countries would attribute to COVID-19. Experts have forecast 1 to 2 million deaths in China through the end of 2023.