In recent times, the topic related to the novel coronavirus in mainland China has once again become a focus of attention, with reports from various regions of people experiencing symptoms such as coughing and sore throat. However, the personal experiences of these individuals have revealed the current situation of opaque official information and profound skepticism towards official statistics.
Nearing certain drug store for medication due to cough recently, Mr. Luo from Changzhi City in Shanxi province was specifically reminded by the shop assistant, “Be careful, COVID-19 is starting again.” He was also advised, “It’s okay to take cold medicine, but be cautious about COVID-19, wear a mask, and avoid transmitting it to others.”
Mr. Luo indicated that these words were clearly meant to remind him to prevent infection from the novel coronavirus. He observed that many adults around him were also showing symptoms similar to a cold, but both he and those around him were well aware that this was essentially an infection with the novel coronavirus, just not being acknowledged as such and all being labeled as common colds.
In Yulin, Shaanxi province, Mr. Liu also described a similar situation to reporters from Dajiyuan. He mentioned that the local hospital has recently seen a surge in crowds, with many adults requiring intravenous fluids, exhibiting symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, and sore throat, with the illness typically lasting around a week. Mr. Liu believed that this marked the beginning of a “second wave of COVID-19 outbreak” this year, gradually emerging since the May Day holiday.
Supported by the personal experiences of Mr. Luo and Mr. Liu, data released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on May 8th showed an increasing trend in the positivity rate of novel coronavirus nucleic acid testing.
The data indicated that in April (from the 14th to the 18th week, March 31 to May 4), the positivity rate of novel coronavirus nucleic acid testing in flu-like illness cases at emergency departments had risen from 7.5% to 16.2%; likewise, the positivity rate in severe acute respiratory infections among hospitalized adult cases had increased from 3.3% to 6.3%. Particularly noteworthy was that in the 18th week, the positivity rate of respiratory samples for major pathogens, specifically the novel coronavirus, ranked highest in flu-like cases among adults aged 15-59 and those aged 60 and above in northern and southern provinces.
However, people are more concerned about the truth behind these official data. Mr. Luo candidly stated that the level of “unparalleled falsification” exists in the disclosure of epidemic information by the Chinese officials. He revealed that even if someone dies due to the novel coronavirus, it would not be listed as such in the medical records, but rather attributed to other causes to avoid acknowledging the presence of the COVID-19 outbreak. Mr. Luo also lamented that even the death toll from the National Bureau of Statistics is no longer publicly available, critical data such as the number of cremations, making it impossible for the public to access accurate mortality information.
Despite downplaying the epidemic, the internal actions of the officials suggest a continued awareness of the presence of the novel coronavirus.
Last October, the Shanxi Provincial Health Commission’s official website issued a notice on the “Action Plan for Disease Prevention and Control in Shanxi Province (2024-2025)”, explicitly listing “prevention and control of acute respiratory infectious diseases such as COVID-19” as a key task, proposing adjustments to the distribution of sentinel hospitals, and conducting multi-channel surveillance on reporting of COVID-19 cases, fever clinics, virus mutations, among others.
Furthermore, since August last year, many areas such as Linchuan County and Zezhou County in Shanxi province have successively carried out emergency response exercises for clustered cases of unknown cause pneumonia or pneumonia of unknown cause.
Against the backdrop of epidemic concealment and lack of transparency in information, the public have developed doubts about certain established narratives.
Mr. Luo shared a unique experience where his wife, daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter had all been infected with the novel coronavirus, despite having been vaccinated. However, he, being the only one in the family who had not been vaccinated against COVID-19, ironically remained uninfected. “It’s a blessing in disguise for me, not getting vaccinated turned out to be a good thing,” he remarked.