China Blames Surge of Respiratory Infections and 'Overwhelmed' Hospitals on Seasonal Flu Outbreak
A surge in respiratory infectious in Beijing have stroked fears of new virus.
Nov. 27 2023, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Chinese health officials denied claims that a new virus is gaining traction in the country following reports of Beijing hospitals being "overwhelmed" by rising cases of a mysterious pneumonia-like illness, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Beijing officials blamed the surge of hospital in-takes on seasonal cold and flu cases, but critics fear the illness is being downplayed after recent footage captured at hospitals showed an eerie resemblance to the initial COVID-19 outbreak.
Recent photos of videos show 'overwhelmed' hospitals in China.
While cases of the mysterious illness and fears continue to rise, officials have urged residents to take pandemic-era precautions such as donning face masks in public, social distancing, and staying at home if possible.
According to the Daily Mail, local media reported that hospitals are being "overwhelmed with sick children."
Video footage showed hundreds of people crowding hospital waiting rooms, while other images captured parents cradling their sick children outside of a Beijing children's hospital.
Health officials urged residents to take precautions like wearing face coverings, social distancing and staying at home if possible.
Despite the similarities to Covid, health chiefs insisted that cases are nothing more than seasonal colds and the flu as China enters its first winter without lockdowns since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Although Chinese health officials vowed that they would be able to handle the spike in cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) made an unprecedented decision to request further information on infections from Beijing officials.
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Health officials denied a novel virus was spreading.
The Chinese health ministry released a statement on Sunday regarding the infectious outbreak. The ministry denied that a novel virus, like what was witnessed in the December 2019 outbreak, is to blame for recent chaos.
Instead, the ministry said that an overlap of common respiratory viruses is unfolding, including RSV and bacterial conditions such as mycoplasma pneumonia.
The ministry said that local officials have been told to open more fever clinics and vaccinations among children and elderly.
"Efforts should be made to increase the opening of relevant clinics and treatment areas, extend service hours and increase the supply of medicines," said health ministry spokesperson Mi Feng.
Feng doubled down on the call for residents to take precautions in their own hands and for local officials to concentrate on preventing the spread of infections in schools and nursing homes.
Beijing began implementing "zero-Covid" policies in December 2022, which rolled back previous restrictions put in place during the pandemic. Health officials claimed that a decrease in immunity is also a factor in rising cases.
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