The peak of the corona in major Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai appears to have passed its peak, according to the Chinese medical journal Frontiers of Medicine. But whether this is true, Chinese expert and creator of the BNR China podcast John-Boy Vossen dares to doubt.
“They’re co-sponsored by China, so that’s a little caveat,” he says. ‘But the Chinese media also report it. So they really indicate that the peak is behind them. The same goes for the number of infections in Shanghai and Beijing, the peak of which is behind us.
While Vossen frankly admits that he cannot verify these figures, it seems highly probable that they are correct. “I had contact with acquaintances and friends in China last week, and they too believe that the number of infections is decreasing slightly. But: these are big cities, where tens of millions of people live.’
Sanitary system
The high amount of infections has an effect on the healthcare system in China, Vossen thinks. “Many people end up in hospitals,” she points out. “And hospital care is better in the city than in the countryside. We will notice this in the coming weeks, especially as the Chinese New Year on January 22 approaches, and then it will become clear how bad everything is going to be.’
According to Vossen, this is because massive population migration usually occurs about two weeks before the Chinese New Year celebration, because everyone wants to visit their family. “It’s about half a billion people, and they often move from the big cities to the countryside because that’s where they’re from,” she continues. “Many people in big cities have become infected, more intensely than in the countryside. So if city dwellers go to the countryside, they will most likely take the virus with them.”
No measures
Vossen also says the Chinese government has not announced any measures. “What they have really done only in recent years is to say that we had to be careful because the virus is circulating,” she continues. “If people kept working in big cities, they got paid more. Young people often raved about it, but now that people haven’t been able to go to their parents’ homes for a number of years — and hear from the government daily that omikron is a milder variant — they think it’s okay. ‘
And there is a nuance to this, Vossen thinks. “There is also a group that realizes that it has a less extreme impact on young people, while it may have an impact on older people,” she concludes. ‘A large percentage of older adults — certainly those over the age of 60 or 70 — either have had no vaccinations or had them a long time ago. There is therefore a good chance that the elderly will become infected. So the Chinese government and the young people are looking at it, but I think they are continuing to move forward. If you haven’t been with your family for three years, you just want to see them again.”
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
