Health in China

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Inkstone Explains unravels the ideas and context behind the headlines to help you understand news about China. When the coronavirus devastated China’s central city of Wuhan in January 2020, many people who suspected they caught the virus were left in the dark. The health system was stretched to its breaking point and test kits were in short supply. Many Chinese people who may have contracted the virus had to wait for days or weeks to get tested, a prerequisite for treatment. Some people died before getting diagnosed.  Fast forward to mid-May and the same city organized a free testing campaign that covered 9.9 million residents over two weeks. The goal was to weed

When Wu boarded a flight back to China in early June, he breathed a sigh of relief. The 25-year-old Chinese businessman had been stranded in Pakistan for more than three months due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions.  “I thought all would be good and right when I finally made it home,” said Wu, who asked for his name to be changed out of fear of retaliation by the authorities.  As soon as he landed in the eastern Chinese city of Jinan, Wu said, he and 180 other repatriated citizens faced a fresh set of ordeals: food poisoning and price-gouging from hotels. During their mandatory quarantine stay, the returnees from Pakistan were provided meals that were found to contain maggots, lady

Health workers around the world have been one of the most essential sectors in the fight against the coronavirus. But the pandemic has brought more violence and abuse to these integral workers.  The International Committee of the Red Cross said it received 208 reports of incidents against health care professionals in various countries between late February and April. They included harassment and violence, as well as stigmatization for treating the virus. Initial violent incidents against health workers were reported in China, where the virus first emerged. In late March, local news reported a CT scan operator in central Hubei province was attacked by two coronavirus patients who were frustra

For weeks, streets were empty and shops closed in cities across China as millions of people stayed in to curb the spread of the coronavirus. But for Xu Yuanhong, 35, who runs a garbage-sorting company in Beijing, business has never been better. “When people stay home, they have more time on their hands to produce more rubbish,” said Xu, whose company Ai Fenlei processes about 900 tons of rubbish every day. Since February, when the Chinese capital went into partial lockdown, Ai Fenlei has had to handle 20% more garbage each day than usual, with much of the extra waste packaging from deliveries. With the temporary closure of brick-and-mortar stores and consumers confined to their homes, the c

Every Tuesday and Thursday, China Trends takes the pulse of the Chinese social media to keep you in the loop of what the world’s biggest internet population is talking about. Xue Hua Piao Piao Bei Feng Xiao Xiao Who would have thought that a song from 1983 would go viral in 2020? That is the case for “Yi Jian Me” (one plum blossom), performed by Fei Yu-ching.  Specifically, it is the line “Xue Hua Piao Piao Bei Feng Xiao Xiao” that has become fodder for short videos on social media. The lyrics translate to, “the snow is fluttering and cold wind is blowing.”   The song originally went viral in China in January, before slowly migrating over to the non-Chinese internet via YouTube and Instagram

Beijing has imposed “wartime management” on one of its districts and locked down more than 20 housing estates after a new coronavirus outbreak at the city’s biggest vegetable market. There were 36 new reported cases on Sunday, taking the number in the capital’s fresh outbreak to 79 – all of them linked to the Xinfadi wholesale market, a huge food distribution center in southern Beijing that supplies food to northern provinces. Some of the cases were found in a second market, Yuquandong, but had links to Xinfadi. In Fengtai district, where Xinfadi market is located, 11 residential compounds had been locked down and were under guard, and a command center had been set up to oversee “wartime” re

A leading public figure in mainland China’s fight against the coronavirus has suggested that Hong Kong should ease its border restrictions to boost its sluggish economy.  Zhong Nanshan, a top Chinese infectious disease expert who is often called a “Sars hero” for his pivotal role in fighting the 2002-2003 outbreak, said a mutually recognized health system between the city and the mainland could enable cross-boundary travelers to skip mandatory Covid-19 quarantines.  In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post, Zhong also praised Hong Kong for its efforts to contain the new coronavirus and called for more cross-border interaction to reboot the city’s economy. “Hong Kong has do

The 11 million residents of the central Chinese city of Wuhan are to be tested for Covid-19 after a cluster of new cases of the disease emerged over the weekend. The city – the outbreak’s initial epicenter – gave all of its districts until Tuesday to come up with plans to test all residents within 10 days, with residential estates and densely populated areas expected to receive special attention. The tests will cover not only people classed as residents, but also migrant workers, estimated to number in their millions. The district of Wuchang, which has a population of more than one million, is aiming to conduct the tests between May 13 and May 20, according to a government document obtained

Scientists around the world are trying to trace the origin of the coronavirus, an effort that could help us get ahead of the next pandemic. In the video above, Inkstone speaks with infectious disease experts to find out what we know about how the devastating virus came into being and what we don’t know. The following is a lightly edited transcript of the video. The new coronavirus is thought to have originated in bats, and the initial outbreak has been linked to a live animal market in China. But there are other conspiracy theories about where it may have come from. So, what should we believe?  Understanding how the virus first infected humans may help us beat the pandemic or, at least, mit

Research in China has added new evidence to the understanding of how the coronavirus – thought to spread mainly through contact with droplets from coughs and sneezes – may linger in the air. The findings suggest coronavirus particles could linger after being shaken from medical workers’ protective gear, or be present in the air in toilets used by patients. The data was based on measurements of particles in the air at two hospitals in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. The study, set to be published in the journal Nature, indicates the virus may have the potential to be transmitted via small droplets suspended in the air called aerosols, the researchers said. Virus-laden aerosols may play a r