The state of the health crisis in China remains the focus of widespread global attention. Especially after China announced two additional deaths from the new Corona virus, amid news of an alarming rise in the number of new cases in the capital, Beijing, and the increasing number of patients who went to fever clinics that were established throughout the country. Also, what emerged about the undertakers' preoccupation with dealing with an increasing number of corpses confirmed the depth of the ordeal of the outbreak that resulted from dropping the strict preventive restrictions that were imposed within the scope of the "zero Covid" strategy that China has pursued since the outbreak of the Corona epidemic at the end of 2019. It was noted that most of the reports related to the health situation in China were not issued by official bodies. Rather, it was drawn from “sources who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on these issues.” And the National Health Authority announced yesterday (Tuesday) that it had recorded five additional deaths in the capital, Beijing, bringing the number of deaths in China since the outbreak of the epidemic to 5,242 deaths. And the Chinese authorities had warned that their health authorities could not determine an accurate number of new infections, after the Chinese were allowed to stay in their homes if it was confirmed that they were infected with the virus. Desperate efforts to convince more elderly people to get the rest of the doses of immunization against the Covid-19 virus appear to have not yet borne fruit. Vaccination centers have been empty for the past days. In addition, the government media did not launch a significant campaign during the past days to urge vaccination. Since the announcement of the abandonment of “Zero Covid”, Chinese hospitals in cities and the countryside began to fill up with patients, so the authorities were forced to establish temporary centers to receive complainants of fever. The shelves of many pharmacies inside and outside the capital were empty of medicines. Many Chinese preferred to “close themselves” in their homes in most cities, for fear of contracting the virus. This imposed heavy pressure on companies operating in the field of delivering meals and food and household supplies (Delivery). Reuters indicated yesterday that experts estimated that about 60% of the Chinese population, or about 10% of the world's population, may be infected with the virus in the coming months. And an arithmetic model stated that the number of deaths in China could rise to two million! Yesterday, the Singaporean newspaper, The Straits Times, indicated that the United States is watching the rise in the rate of new infections in China with some concern. She added that US and European officials began to wonder how they could provide assistance to China in this difficult circumstance. She added that these Western officials fear that any possible exacerbation of the Chinese health crisis will affect the performance of the global economy. In particular, they warned of the possibility of damage to supply chains, and the possibility that the exacerbation of the current health situation would result in the emergence of new genetically mutated strains of the new Corona virus. Chinese President Shen Jiping has repeatedly insisted that China is able to face all developments in its epidemic crisis. Reuters indicated yesterday that US and European officials are in talks with their Chinese counterparts about ways to help Beijing overcome its current health condition. And they made sure to make calculated statements to clearly indicate that the ball is now in China's court to determine what it wants. In this regard, it was reported that one of the options on the table is for China to accept the delivery of quantities of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has been updated to repel the Omicron mutant. Westerners believe that this updated vaccine is more capable than Chinese-made vaccines against Omicron and its subspecies. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz discussed this matter with Chinese officials during his visit to Beijing last November. He was keen to accompany him during the visit, CEO of Biontech, Professor Ugur Shaheen. Last Thursday, the Corona coordinator at the US White House, Dr. Ashish Jha, said that Washington is ready to help any country in the world with vaccines, treatments, and everything else. Last week, the American pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, reached an agreement with China, according to which it would supply quantities of Paxlovid to treat corona, through a local Chinese company. The former editor-in-chief of the ruling Chinese Communist Party newspaper, Hu Qizhen, said in a tweet on Twitter that he welcomed the position of the US government, and hoped that Pfizer would prompt a reduction in the price of Paxlovid for China.
Yesterday, the British newspaper, The Guardian, indicated that China is making intensive and accelerated efforts to increase the number of beds in intensive care units, the number of health personnel, and drug supplies, to counter the exacerbation of new infections with the Covid-19 virus. And it quoted the Chinese newspaper “Global Times” that the authorities are seeking to provide hospitals with more artificial respirators. She added that several hospitals had to seek the help of cadres from other hospitals, especially intensive care unit nurses. The authorities are working to increase the number of intensive care doctors and nurses by 10 times, to meet the expected developments. The local authorities in the city of Gwangju, which has a population of about 15 million, stated that they had increased the number of fever clinics to be able to receive 110,000 patients per day, instead of 40,000 in the past. The People's Daily, mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, stated that efforts are being made to increase the number of intensive care beds in Gwangju from 455 to 1,385 beds by the end of yesterday (Tuesday).
Half a million employees resigned.. because of Covid!
A report of the House of Lords – the upper chamber of the British Parliament – warned yesterday that the workforce in Britain lost about half a million employees who left their jobs in the furnace of the new Corona virus. The House of Lords Economic Committee said the significant rise in "inactivity" – when adults of working age are either unemployed or not looking for work – since the outbreak of the health crisis posed a "serious challenge" to the British economy. The committee indicated that the choice of a large number of those between the ages of 50 and 64 years to retire early is the biggest reason for the rise in “economic inactivity” for about 565 thousand employees and workers since the start of the crisis. She added that other reasons include the increase in the number of absentees from work for sick reasons, the change in the immigration structure after Britain's exit from the European Union, and the increasing number of elderly people in Britain. The report asked: Where did all that number of employees go? He added that the severe shortage of employees due to those people giving up their jobs has hurt economic growth in the near term. It also led to a reduction in tax collection revenues that allow financing public services. The report warned that this shortage in the labor force would also contribute to an increase in the inflation rate, which rose to 10.7% in November 2022. This rate is the highest of its kind in Britain since the eighties of the 20th century. The report raised concern that Britain will be by The year 2023 is the only developed country in which employment will remain below its levels before the outbreak of the Corona crisis. Committee chair Lord Bridges of Headley said failure to close the gap in the workforce would make it difficult to control inflation, hurt economic growth and put unacceptable pressure on public finances.
Yassin Ahmed (London), Okaz (Beijing, Washington) @OKAZ_online
