Video Shows 'Exhausted' Doctor Collapsing In Hospital As COVID-19 Cases, Deaths Spike In China

The COVID-19 situation in China has been going from bad to worse, with new infections at unprecedented levels in the country.

The new wave of infections that followed the Chinese government's reluctant relaxation of the Zero COVID policy under increasing public pressure has seen hospitals over-run with patients seeking treatment.

AFP

Reports show China is building makeshift hospitals to screen fever patients as cases surge.

The current wave of infections, for which China was ill-prepared, has stretched the medical infrastructure to its limits.

Exhausted doctor collapses

A frightening video has emerged online showing a doctor collapsing in a hospital while checking on patients.

REUTERS

In the video, the doctor can be seen attending to one patient after another and then suddenly collapses on his chair, needing the intervention of other doctors. Unable to revive him, his colleagues reportedly moved him out of the chair.

Patients given CPR on hospital floor

Another video has also surfaced online, said to be from a hospital in the Chinese city of Chongqing, where patients are given CPR on the floor.

In the video, patients can be seen lying prone on the floor and receiving chest compressions from machines and groups of doctors.

All the beds in the room appeared to be occupied by patients in a similarly severe condition, intubated and hooked up to ventilators.

官方说没有重症，看看重庆医科大学附属第一医院 急诊留观区域。 pic.twitter.com/UsGiKoS4gG

— iPaul???? (@iPaulCanada) December 20, 2022

China continues to hide real COVID tally

Beijing reported five COVID-related deaths on Tuesday and two on Monday, the first fatalities reported in weeks.

In total, China has reported just 5,242 COVID deaths since the pandemic erupted in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019, an extremely low toll by global standards.

While China has been hiding its real toll, there are also reports of long crematorium queues.

REUTERS

Long queues to cremate the dead

According to Reuters, residents in Beijing face waiting days to cremate relatives or paying steep fees to secure timely services.

Workers at two different funeral parlours in Beijing told Reuters over the weekend there has been a surge in residents looking to cremate deceased relatives, leading to queues and delays.

The backlog has prompted some residents to seek workarounds, such as ditching hearses and using their cars to carry bodies to funeral parlours, said a worker at the large Babaoshan funeral parlour in western Beijing.

REUTERS

China's new definition of COVID death

On Tuesday, China also changed its definition of counting the fatalities and said that only deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting COVID would be classified as COVID deaths.

Deaths in patients with pre-existing illnesses are not counted as COVID-19 deaths.

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