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Dec 14 • 13 tweets • 10 min read
Latest from me on… #China #Covid: Hospitals under strain in wave of infections bbc.co.uk/news/world-asi…
Doctors and nurses are being forced to go to work even if they contract #COVID19 we’ve been told. So hospital staff could actually be infecting patients with the virus. #China #Covid crisis. Latest from me: bbc.co.uk/news/world-asi…
Hearing stories like this all over #Beijing. #China #Covid 180-degree, high-speed, backflip…
#Beijing’s #Covid outbreak has exploded after government’s the #ZeroCovid backflip. There must be millions of people already infected in the city. There’s no point checking official numbers because people aren’t doing PCR tests and they don’t have to report themselves. #China
Here’s our latest @BBCWorld TV piece on the #Covid crisis unfolding in #Beijing, #China. Part 1…
Here’s our latest @BBCWorld TV piece on the #Covid crisis unfolding in #Beijing, #China. Part 2…
It’s going to be a really tough few months in #China but many people I’ve spoken to are not so concerned about the speed of diving into #Covid crisis mode because they want to get this transition over and done with. They’ve been so sick of three years with #ZeroCovid restrictions
One reason why hospitals get packed in #China at times like this is that there’s no system of local family doctors. If you get sick you go to the hospital. Professor Chen Xi (see my article above) says officials have already been examining ways of overhauling health services here
BTW some young people in #China are saying they’re so keen to get this all over and done with that they might find an infected friend and deliberately catch #COVID19.
Prof Chen (article below): ‘timing of China's re-opening "not ideal" but had to do it…Singapore/New Zealand made changes when infections at bay…#China moved with full-blown outbreaks… government "heard the voice of the protesters" but not ideal timing.’ bbc.co.uk/news/world-asi…
Chinese language version of my written piece. 我写的报道中文版的。#China #Covid crisis… bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/…
Chinese language version of our video story on #China’s #Covid crisis. 我们电视报道中文版的。
We’ve all caught the virus covering the #Covid crisis in #China. In #Beijing, at the moment, it’s unusual to know someone who’s not been infected. In a matter of weeks, millions of people must’ve caught it, just in this city. It’s ripping through the population.

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More from @StephenMcDonell

Stephen McDonell Profile picture
Dec 16
A long-established local media outlet in the capital, The Beijinger, has done a survey of people in #Beijing, on a series of Wechat groups, about #Covid infections here. So far a whopping 70% of respondents say they’ve been infected. #China
The sample group would include a lot of foreigners living in #Beijing and skew heavily towards Chaoyang and Dongcheng districts, however it would also seem to match other anecdotal evidence. It’s hard to find someone in the city who hasn’t caught #Covid over the last week or so.
Sadly, the incredible speed with which #Covid has ripped though #Beijing (could be more that 10 million infections in a week here) has put older residents/vulnerable groups in danger. This is pretty grim… #China
Read 7 tweets
Stephen McDonell Profile picture
Dec 5
We're seeing easing of #ZeroCovid measures in different forms right across #China. This is only the beginning but it looks like the government has now given up on the idea of reducing each outbreak to zero cases. Take #Beijing: cases have not come down but restrictions easing.
This doesn't mean there will suddenly be no restrictions, there could even still be lockdowns if #Covid_19 deaths spread too quickly, but the long term trajectory now looks set. In the wake of the protests in cities across #China, #ZeroCovid has to go.
The can be a gradual easing though, with the government monitoring the strain on hospitals here. It can try to allow #Covid_19 to spread at a slower rate. The messaging from the government has already changed. People are now being told that the newest strains are not as serious.
Read 8 tweets
Stephen McDonell Profile picture
Dec 2
In #Beijing, the queues to get a PCR test are back to being very long and slow tonight. Daily test results are still needed to enter public buildings but the authorities have again suddenly closed a whole lot of testing stations, others only open for a few hours in the morning.
Which brings us to this week’s Friday beverage O’Clock track, dedicated to everyone in #China still enduring #ZeroCovid restrictions. Trouble in My Brain… crank it up and don’t go insane!
I’ve been queueing for 40 minutes already. This station closes in 20 minutes. Lots of people behind me are going to be very angry after they’ve queued for so long in the winter & can’t even get a test. A little kid is riding his bike up and down the line saying “not enough time”. Image
Read 18 tweets
Stephen McDonell Profile picture
Dec 1
#JiangZemin's memorial service will be held next Tuesday at the Great Hall of the People in #Beijing. It will be broadcast live, there will be a 3-minutes of "silence" across the country with horns and sirens sounding.
Note: There will be no chance for members of the public to file past his body. Given the upheaval in #China following gatherings to mark former leader Hu Yaobang's death, it could be that Xi's administration finds this too risky with anti-#ZeroCovid protests going on.
#JiangZemin's body has arrived in #Beijing. CCTV evening news broadcast images of his body leaving #Shanghai, with small groups organised by the Party waving in the street as the car went by. After arrival in the capital, #XiJinping has been shown bowing to Jiang's body.
Read 6 tweets
Stephen McDonell Profile picture
Nov 29
Some of our TV coverage of recent #ZeroCovid unrest in #China, with protestors dramatically questioning the country’s governance directly, even challenging China’s leader #XiJinping himself. China’s #Covid crisis continues.
Statement from the European Union
Chamber of Commerce in #China recommending a fresh vaccine push and public awareness campaign in the county regarding vaccinations. #ZeroCovid #Covid
#Hangzhou was the latest flashpoint for anti-#ZeroCovid measures last night. Since then it’s been pretty quiet on that front in #China. There’s a government #Covid press conference in just over an hour but we don’t expect any dramatic announcements.
Read 17 tweets
Stephen McDonell Profile picture
Nov 28
I couldn’t believe it til I checked but, amidst #ZeroCovid protests here, #China Central Television (CCTV) is editing out close ups of spectators in its coverage of the World Cup so Chinese viewers don’t see thousands of fans without masks in the stands. Only crowd wide shots.
Whether spectators in the stands should be wearing masks or not is another question but this is clearly the Chinese government not trusting its own people with the knowledge that, in the rest of the world, crowds are now gathering maskless and #China stands alone with #ZeroCovid.
And, for those who still doubt it, here is a comparison of World Cup coverage elsewhere and on #China's CCTV with the supporter faces shots being cut so as to hide the reality of the #Covid situation internationally from the Chinese audience...
Read 6 tweets

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