The Ministry of Health admitted on Wednesday that the exact scale of the Covid-19 epidemic in China is now “impossible” to determine, as testing is no longer mandatory following the sudden easing of health restrictions, AFP reported, citing News. ro.

Beijing and its 22 million residents have been hit particularly hard by this wave of infections, unprecedented in the city since the pandemic began and spreading at lightning speed in recent days.

Vice Prime Minister Sun Chunlan said the number of infections in the capital had “increased rapidly”. Some companies reported that 90% of their staff were infected.

At the same time, the number of new detected cases is falling rapidly.

Last week, China significantly eased medical restrictions against Covid, which were meant to minimize infections and deaths thanks to draconian measures implemented as part of the so-called “zero Covid” policy.

China is having trouble tracking the actual number of coronavirus infections

The easing came after mass protests erupted in several of the country’s major cities, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets to protest the strict restrictions.

Positive people are no longer automatically quarantined, and the mass PCR testing campaign has been stopped. Because of this, the number of people who proactively take a PCR test has sharply decreased.

Logically, the number of new detected cases has fallen sharply, giving the false impression that the situation is improving. However, the Ministry of Health confirmed that the official statistics no longer correspond to reality.

“The majority of people who are infected but asymptomatic no longer have PCR tests, so it is impossible to have an accurate picture of the actual number of infected people,” the report said.

China is reopening, but people remain cautious on the streets

Currently, most people are self-testing at home, this method cannot be controlled by health authorities. And yet, while restaurants, shopping malls and parks are reopening, Beijing’s streets remain sparsely populated.

Many sick residents are taking care of themselves at home, others fear contagion, and businesses are struggling to operate due to staff contamination. Residents of Beijing also complain that stocks of medicines for colds and fevers are running out.

Baidu Internet searches for the word “Ibuprofen”, a fever and flu medicine, increased by 430% in one week.

Having completely scrapped the “zero covid” strategy it had long championed, the government now appears determined to continue reopening the country.

The health system, especially in less developed regions, and the elderly, millions of whom are still not fully vaccinated, could be hit hard by this wave of epidemics.

The WHO warned on Tuesday that China faces a “very difficult period” due to the sudden easing of restrictions, recalling that “we have always said: don’t impose quarantines too easily and too quickly, because it is very, very difficult.” go out”.