China's Ministry Of Health Urges Local Governments To Increase Clinical Number To Handle Respiratory Diseases

Chinese illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Andrii Makukha)

JAKARTA - China's Ministry of Health on Sunday urged local governments to increase the number of fever clinics, as the country grappled with a surge in respiratory diseases in its first winter since the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

This spike came to global attention last week, when the World Health Organization (WHO) asked China for more information, citing reports of an undiagnosed pneumonia group in children by the Developing Disease Monitoring Program (Programme for Monitoring Emerging Diseases).

National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng said on Sunday the spike in acute respiratory diseases was linked to the simultaneous circulation of several types of pathogens, the most prominent of which was influenza.

"Efforts must be made to increase the number of relevant clinics and treatment areas, extend service hours appropriately and strengthen drug supply guarantees," Mi told a news conference.

"It is important to do good work in preventing and controlling epidemics in crowded places such as schools, child care institutions and nursing homes, to reducing the flow of people and visits," he explained.

Cases among children appear very high in northern areas such as Beijing and Liaoning Province, where hospitals warn of long waiting times.

Last Friday, the State Council said influenza will peak in winter and spring, while mycoplasma pneumonia infections will remain high in some areas. The report also warns of the risk of a return to COVID infection.

"All regions must strengthen information reporting on infectious diseases to ensure information is reported on time and accurately," the State Council said in a statement.

The day before, WHO said data provided by China showed recent cases related to the lifting of COVID restrictions 11 months ago, along with the circulation of known pathogens such as mycoplasma pneumoniae, common bacterial infections that usually attack children, which have been circulating since May.