Cases Of COVID-19 Infection Continue To Spread: Hospitals And Funeral Homes In China Excessive, Crematorium Full Of Messages Until The New Year

JAKARTA - China's hospitals and funeral homes came under intense pressure on Wednesday, as the soaring COVID-19 wave drained resources, while the scale of the outbreak and doubts over official data prompted several countries to consider new travel rules against visitors from China.

In a sudden shift in policy, China this month began dismantling the world's most stringent COVID regime with extensive lockdowns and testing, putting its battered economy on track to fully reopen next year.

The lifting of restrictions, which came after widespread protests against it, means COVID-19 is spreading largely unchecked and is likely to infect millions of people every day, according to several international health experts.

The speed with which China, the world's last major country to treat the virus as endemic, has rolled back COVID rules has overwhelmed its fragile health system.

China reported three new COVID-related deaths on Tuesday, up from one on Monday, a figure inconsistent with what funeral homes are reporting, as well as with the experiences of much less populous countries after reopening.

Staff at Huaxi, a large hospital in the southwest city of Chengdu, said they were "very busy" with COVID patients.

"I've been doing this job for 30 years and it's the busiest job I've ever known," said an ambulance driver outside the hospital who declined to be named.

There were long queues inside and outside the hospital's emergency department and at the adjacent fever clinic on Tuesday evening. Most of those who arrived by ambulance were given oxygen to help them breathe.

"Almost all patients have COVID," said one of the emergency department pharmacy staff.

Hospitals do not have COVID-specific drugs in stock and can only provide drugs for symptoms such as coughs, he said.

Meanwhile, the parking lots around the Dongjiao funeral home, one of the largest in Chengdu, were full. The funeral procession was constant as smoke billowed from the crematorium.

"Now we have to do this about 200 times a day," said one cemetery official.

"We are so busy, we don't even have time to eat. This has been happening since opening. Before it was about 30-50 a day," he continued.

"Many died of COVID," said another worker.

Meanwhile, at another Chengdu crematorium, Nanling, which is privately owned, the staff are just as busy.

"There have been so many deaths from COVID lately," said one worker.

"The cremation slots are all fully booked. You can't get them until the new year."

It is known, China says it only counts COVID patient deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as COVID-related.

Zhang Yuhua, an official at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, said most of the recent patients were elderly and critically ill with co-morbidities. He said the number of patients receiving emergency treatment had increased to 450-550 per day, from about 100 previously, according to state media.

The fever clinic of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing was also "overflowing" with elderly patients, state media reported.

Nurses and doctors were asked to work while sick and retired medical workers in rural communities were redeployed to help. Several cities have struggled with drug shortages.

Separately, in a major step toward freer travel, China will stop requiring incoming travelers to quarantine from January 8, authorities said this week.