DDHK. ORG – To prevent superstorms flu Covid-19, the Chinese government urges vigilance at home and tracking plague abroad this winter.
Some of the top scientists China has called for excessive vigilance against the possible collision of Covid-19 and influenza outbreaks this winter as cases of the coronavirus are on the rise again in several major cities.
Speaking at a World Flu Day symposium on Monday, Zhong Nanshan, China's leading respiratory expert, warned that the risk of multiple respiratory illnesses was high worldwide.
According to SCMP.com, China is facing a spike in Covid-19 cases in many parts of the country as winter approaches. As of Tuesday, there were 409 new cases with local symptoms and 2.346 new cases without local symptoms. Outbreaks were found in more than a dozen provinces and cities.
Covid-19 Caution Call
Several local governments have called for extreme caution against influenza and Covid-19.
Health authorities in the southern city of Guangzhou said they faced a "terrible and complicated" outbreak this week, recording more than 500 infections in the past week.
On Wednesday, Zhengzhou in Henan province was imposing a seven-day lockdown across the district where Foxconn's main factory is located. The province came into the limelight after an exodus of workers from the Covid-stricken factory, the world's biggest iPhone maker, caused a stir on social media at the weekend.
Winter Plague
Henan Governor Wang Kai told a conference on Monday that the province should be prepared in case of a major outbreak this winter and spring.
While sticking to the zero-Covid restrictions, China is also keeping an eye on a spike in cases of the coronavirus and other respiratory illnesses elsewhere around the world.
There are worrying signs that influenza cases are increasing in some countries. In the United States, flu season arrived a month earlier than usual and has prompted a significant spike in hospital admissions.
The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are at least 880.000 recorded illnesses, nearly 7.000 hospitalizations and 360 flu deaths this season.
So far, there has been no new spike in illness or death from Covid-19 in the US but scientists remain concerned as winter approaches.
Last month, Germany re-imposed a mask mandate for some public transport amid a spike in cases, although the number of cases has stabilized this week.
The UK is also seeing the early arrival of the influenza season, although the Covid-19 infection rate has remained steady.
However, the increase in the UK and US of the RSV respiratory illness among children has sparked concern among some experts about the possibility of a "tidemic".
The former head of China's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), George Gao Fu, told the World Flu Day symposium on Tuesday that the increase in influenza cases may be related to weakened immunity due to public health measures over the past three years.
And the easing of social distancing rules in many countries has increased the emergence of new strains of influenza.
He also linked the spread of influenza to low rates of flu vaccination.
Zhang Wenqing, Director of the World Health Organization's Global Influenza Programme, said at the symposium there has been a spike in influenza cases in the Southern Hemisphere winter this year and it is important to be aware of the high incidence during the Northern Hemisphere winter.
Australia recorded its worst influenza outbreak in years, with 252 deaths between January and July. But the pandemic remains far more deadly, with more than 6.600 deaths from Covid-19 in the country during the same period.
Australia's higher recorded number of influenza cases can be attributed to better surveillance in the pandemic era. However, some experts fear it may be a sign of a parallel flu outbreak and the Covid-19 outbreak in the northern hemisphere. As more people gather indoors during cold weather, the risk of spreading respiratory illnesses increases.
At the same forum, Gao also warned of an increased risk of H5N1 bird flu as large-scale animal outbreaks were reported in Europe and the US, bringing with them the possibility of transmitting to humans. [DDHK News]
