In rural eastern China, not testing for COVID becomes the norm
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[January 10, 2023]
By Brenda Goh
DINGYUAN, China (Reuters) - Weng Shuiye laid back in her chair, sighing
with relief as oxygen flowed from a tank into her nostrils.
Breathing problems, body aches and lethargy had prompted her to visit a
hospital in her home village in Tonglu county in eastern China's
Zhejiang province' for treatment.
Such symptoms are common for COVID-19, which is fast spreading across
the country after China abruptly changed its zero-COVID policy last
month, but Weng was not tested for the disease.
"I'm not going to test, it's just that my waist is aching," the
77-year-old said.
It was a common reaction among patients in Tonglu, illustrating how
COVID-19 is spreading across China without recognition, especially in
its vast rural regions.
Health experts and countries such as the United States and Japan have
expressed concern over how the virus is largely unchecked across the
world's most populous country.
Official data - China reported 14,171 new symptomatic cases and three
deaths for Jan. 8 - dramatically under-represents the true extent of the
outbreak, international experts have said.
British-based health data firm Airfinity said late last year it expects
China's COVID infections to reach their first peak on Jan. 13 with 3.7
million cases a day.
Several residents around Tonglu county told Reuters they had COVID
symptoms or believed they had been infected previously, but that testing
was not that common, especially for those living in the villages.
"Everyone talks about having the virus so you just assume you have it.
But a lot of those in the village won’t test either, especially if they
have to go to a specialised place to get a test. The conditions are not
as good as that in a city where you can get an antigen test," said
Weng's niece, who gave her surname as Chen as she stood beside her aunt.
"Quite a number of my relatives and neighbours say that they have caught
a cold, or they feel terrible, or they don’t have any energy. So they
just stay at home."
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Relatives and neighbours attend the
funeral of a woman surnamed Liu, as coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
outbreak continues, at a village in Tonglu county, Zhejiang
province, China, January 9, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song
Testing was not compulsory for
patients at any of the medical facilities visited by Reuters in
recent weeks, with one doctor at the hospital visited by Weng saying
that they would only recommend patients take an antigen test if they
showed most of COVID-19's ten major symptoms.
OTHER DATA
Chinese health officials and state media have repeatedly said COVID
infections are peaking, though they caution that the number of
severe cases is rising in rural areas.
Medical facilities visited this week by Reuters in Tonglu county, in
one of China's most prosperous regions and known for farming, were
relatively calm.
However, hospitals visited by Reuters in Shanghai and Chengdu, as
well as others around the country depicted in images and videos
posted on social media, had overwhelmed emergency departments and
long queues at fever clinics.
Analysts looking to get clues about the true size of outbreak have
turned to other indicators, such as how busy crematoriums are. In
Tonglu county, residents described how crowded the local crematorium
was, echoing what funeral home staff in other cities such as Beijing
and Shanghai have told Reuters.
On Monday afternoon, about 50 family members and neighbours
participated in a funeral procession for a 93-year-old woman
surnamed Liu who had died on Saturday at Dingyuan village. They were
only holding the mourning rites in the afternoon, not in the
morning, which is traditional, due to the queues at Tonglu's main
crematorium.
Family members said they did not know if she had COVID-19 as she was
not tested for the virus, although she had had trouble breathing and
many people in the village and her family members had caught COVID
recently.
"It's hard to say, she was so old anyway," said a relative,
declining to give his name as they lit fireworks and carried wreaths
and joss sticks up a hill to lay her ashes on the top.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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