Thread by @JiangJiang43

There is a decline in emergency & critical care peaks in #China's large cities, while small & medium-sized cities & rural areas will soon experience peaks in emergency & critical care, said Jiao Yahui, an official with the National Health Commission in a recent interview. 1/6

There will not necessarily be an increase in #COVID infections during Spring Festival. Still, there may be increase in emergency&serious illnesses in small&medium-sized cities&rural areas, Jiao noted, saying that infection rates have reached a certain level in these regions 2/6

Jiao said that "from the typing of clinical cases of #omicron in #China in 2022, the proportion of pneumonia in the common type of COVID-led illnesses is relatively low, less than 10%, which is about 8%." 3/6

"As infection base grows, so does absolute value of pneumonia emergence. #China's population is large & any lower % becomes a significant number if it becomes an absolute value.Overall, the % of ppl attending fever clinics who have pneumonia is currently quite low," she said. 4/6

The utilization rate of #ICU beds in 2nd&higher-level hospitals nationwide was 54% as of Dec. 25, 2022. The rate now is around 80%.With a simultaneous rise in infection rates in urban&rural areas,China's #COVID medical treatment is facing an unprecedented challenge, she said. 5/6

In terms of clinical conditions, while ppl believe there is more pneumonia now, the impact of pneumonia today differs from the impact of pneumonia 3 years ago. With timely treatment & intervention, the vast majority of pneumonia cases are now treatable & curable, Jiao said. 6/6

source: mp.weixin.qq.com/s/8s5X66m4IBeS…