Many patients died at the Shanghai Donghai Elderly Care Hospital, relatives of patients told the Associated Press. They say their loved ones did not receive proper care after caregivers who came in contact with the virus were quarantined, following strict pandemic regulations, exhausting hospital staff. Family members have taken to social media to ask for help and answers and demand to see surveillance videos from inside the facility after receiving little or no information from the hospital. Hospital conditions and deaths are a sharp rebuke to China’s strategy of pursuing a zero-COVID-19 policy as it faces the outbreak in Shanghai, where most of those infected have no symptoms. With a focus on forcing positive cases and close contacts in designated collective quarantine facilities, the cost of zero COVID-19 may outweigh the risk of getting sick. On Saturday, Shanghai Deputy Mayor Zong Ming said the lockdown could soon be lifted or relaxed in communities that do not report positive cases within 14 days, after another round of COVID-19 testing across the city. St. Payming, 71, was one such victim of harsh treatment. She died Sunday morning at the hospital, without relatives at her side. A family member said they called the hospital incessantly to find out the circumstances of Shen’s death, but received no clear answer. “How many times have there been a lockdown since 2020? “Do they not yet have the experience to manage this?” said the family member. All they know is that the doctor and her nurses did not go there to care for Sen, who became partially paralyzed after a stroke. Her last assistant nurse was quarantined because she was in close contact with a positive case, the relative said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. An unknown worker called to inform them of her death. The hospital later said it was due to a chest infection. The hospital had a COVID-19 outbreak, the family was notified by the clients, but Shen had come out negative since last week. Shanghai authorities have not reported any deaths from the outbreak, but questions have been raised about the reliability of the data. A city health official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the criteria for confirming cases and deaths are very strict and prone to political interference. It is not clear how many patients have died in hospital and whether anyone has died from COVID-19. Families say they are talking to other families whose relatives have also died. An article by the Chinese news agency Caixin describing the deaths and infections was removed shortly after its publication, apparently targeted by censors. Calls to Donghai Elderly Care headquarters went unanswered. The Shanghai government did not respond to a request for comment. Most experts agree that China’s COVID-19 approach to zero has been extremely successful in reducing deaths to a minimum when there were limited drugs or vaccines. But now that downloads are widely available in China and with the advent of the micron variant, many say the government should abandon politics and focus medical resources on the elderly and vulnerable. In contrast, Shanghai has locked up its 26 million people and conducted repeated mass tests to deal with an outbreak caused by the highly contagious omicron BA.2 variant. On Saturday, the city reported more than 23,000 new local cases, of which only 1,015 had symptoms. “If you are asymptomatic, what will hurt you?” said Ray Yip, the founding director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in China, which has close ties to Chinese health officials. “The only people who get sick are those with diabetes, obesity, chronic diseases, the elderly. Protect these people. You can protect them. “ However, the low vaccination rate among the elderly remains a concern. Only 62% of Shanghai residents over the age of 60 have been vaccinated, according to the latest available data. Some experts advocate a tough approach, saying China needs to increase that rate before it can live safely with the virus. The US guidelines for asymptomatic cases, as in the UK, are that people are isolated at home for five days. In Shanghai, workers are rushing to set up huge temporary facilities in showrooms and elsewhere to try to house all those who test positive. The lockdown across the city has disrupted daily life and the economy. Many residents, trapped in their apartment buildings, try to buy food through apps and place mass orders with neighbors. Some quarantines have posted videos showing chaotic scenes of people rushing to get food and lack of clean toilets. Others have posted appeals to relatives in urgent need of medication. The United States said Friday that it was allowing the release of unnecessary staff and family members from its consulate in Shanghai because of the situation. The government has trumpeted its success in curbing COVID-19, touting it as proof of China’s superiority in governance – especially compared to western democracies, where deaths far exceed those of China. This narrative, experts say, makes it difficult for Beijing to change tactics. “They were very fond of their own people for how wonderful they are, and now they are painted in a corner,” Yip said. “The only way they can control Shanghai now is to repeat what they did to Wuhan.” Wuhan’s 11 million people were stranded for more than two months at the start of the 2020 pandemic. The Shanghai lockdown came abruptly just a month ago, when some Chinese health experts publicly proposed easing pandemic control measures. The economic importance of the city and the advanced health care system left the officials reluctant to impose strict measures and confidence to fight any cases. Further, Chinese leader Xi Jinping ordered the ongoing cases in China to be controlled at “minimal cost” in mid-March, stressing Beijing’s desire to protect the economy while curbing the virus. Shanghai has taken targeted steps, locking individual office buildings, shopping malls and neighborhoods for 48 hours at a time, but otherwise allowing life to continue as usual. With mild measures, the number of cases in the city increased. The outbreak spread to at least 71 other cities, according to a statement from Guangxi Province in southern China, and pressure mounted on tougher measures. On March 28, the city launched an eight-day lockdown in two phases, which has since evolved into one across the city without end. “There is no time to lose,” Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chunlan said during a visit to the city last weekend, according to a government statement. “We need to move faster and harder to provide strong support for eradicating cases in society.” The actions sent nurses and doctors into quarantine, causing conditions to worsen at Donghai Elderly Care. Chen Jielei said the outbreak at the hospital infected her unvaccinated, partially paralyzed 81-year-old mother. Because the staff members also fell ill, her mother did not serve her meals on time and her sheets remained unchanged for days. After a few days, a replacement started taking care of her. A college teacher, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared punishment, said his family had not been notified for more than a day after his 82-year-old father died on March 31. His last contact was on March 28 with an assistant nurse who called to warn that there were positive cases and they could no longer take care of his father. “In those three days, what happened to my father? What kind of abuse did he suffer? ” asked. His father’s condition was stable on March 28 when he spoke to the assistant nurse. Shen remained in the hospital for three years after her stroke. Family members visited every week. However, the visits were banned in early March as the COVID-19 epidemic spread to Shanghai, the relative said. They were not initially worried because the hospital was always very responsive and was in contact with the paramedics who cared for Shen. But an authorizing officer warned on March 26 that there were positive cases and many Donghai staff were quarantined. The hospital hired temporary nursing assistants, but many had no health care experience, said one nursing assistant. The woman, who only gave Zhang her last name, said a job search office told her it was a cleaning job. “They said your job is just to clean, you won’t even have to wear a protective suit. “But what they said was completely different from what I had to do,” he said. Shen needed to be helped to eat through a tube by stirring her food in a liquid. She also had a tube in her throat that had to be disinfected every day. “In the past, if there was a problem, they always called me. “This time, there was not even a voice message and he died so suddenly,” said the relative. The hospital is now asking the families to sign a form for cremation. Shen’s relative said the family would refuse until he received a clear answer. The hospital sent an apology letter to some of the families on Wednesday. The AP saw a copy. “Because of the emergency of the epidemic, and many of the elderly had not been vaccinated, it caused their deaths with a serious underlying disease and poor health,” he said. While Chinese government investigators have begun exploring ways to end zero COVID, the government continues to punish officials with major cases on their lawns. “The space for discussion has now been eliminated,” Yanzhong said …
title: “Shanghai Hospital Pays The Price For China S Covid Response " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-08” author: “David Bloom”
BEIJING (AP) – A series of deaths in a hospital for elderly patients in Shanghai underscores the dangerous consequences of China’s stubborn pursuit of a zero-COVID approach amid a scaling-up epidemic in the city of 26 million people.
Many patients died at the Shanghai Donghai Elderly Care Hospital, relatives of patients told the Associated Press. They say their loved ones did not receive proper care after caregivers who came in contact with the virus were quarantined, following strict pandemic regulations, exhausting hospital staff.
Family members have taken to social media to ask for help and answers and demand to see surveillance videos from inside the facility after receiving little or no information from the hospital.
Hospital conditions and deaths are a sharp rebuke to China’s strategy of pursuing a zero-COVID-19 policy as it faces the outbreak in Shanghai, where most of those infected have no symptoms. With a focus on forcing positive cases and close contacts in designated collective quarantine facilities, the cost of zero COVID-19 may outweigh the risk of getting sick.
On Saturday, Shanghai Deputy Mayor Zong Ming said the lockdown could soon be lifted or relaxed in communities that do not report positive cases within 14 days, after another round of COVID-19 testing across the city.
St. Payming, 71, was one such victim of harsh treatment. She died Sunday morning at the hospital, without relatives at her side. A family member said they called the hospital incessantly to find out the circumstances of Shen’s death, but received no clear answer. “How many times have there been a lockdown since 2020? Do they not yet have the experience to handle this? ” said the family member.
All they know is that the doctor and her nurses did not go there to care for Sen, who became partially paralyzed after a stroke. Her last assistant nurse was quarantined because she was in close contact with a positive case, the relative said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. An unknown worker called to inform them of her death. The hospital later said it was due to a chest infection.
The hospital had a COVID-19 outbreak, the family was notified by the clients, but Shen had come out negative since last week.
Shanghai authorities have not reported any deaths from the outbreak, but questions have been raised about the reliability of the data. A city health official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the criteria for confirming cases and deaths are very strict and prone to political interference.
It is not clear how many patients have died in hospital and whether anyone has died from COVID-19. Families say they are talking to other families whose relatives have also died. An article by the Chinese news agency Caixin describing the deaths and infections was removed shortly after its publication, apparently targeted by censors. Calls to Donghai Elderly Care headquarters went unanswered. The Shanghai government did not respond to a request for comment.
Most experts agree that China’s COVID-19 approach to zero has been extremely successful in reducing deaths to a minimum when there were limited drugs or vaccines. But now that downloads are widely available in China and with the advent of the micron variant, many say the government should abandon politics and focus medical resources on the elderly and vulnerable.
In contrast, Shanghai has locked up its 26 million people and conducted repeated mass tests to deal with an outbreak caused by the highly contagious omicron BA.2 variant. On Saturday, the city reported more than 23,000 new local cases, of which only 1,015 had symptoms.
“If you are asymptomatic, what will hurt you?” said Ray Yip, the founding director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in China, which has close ties to Chinese health officials. “The only people who get sick are those with diabetes, obesity, chronic diseases, the elderly. Protect these people. You can protect them. “
However, the low vaccination rate among the elderly remains a concern. Only 62% of Shanghai residents over the age of 60 have been vaccinated, according to the latest available data. Some experts advocate a tough approach, saying China needs to increase that rate before it can live safely with the virus.
The US guidelines for asymptomatic cases, as in the UK, are that people are isolated at home for five days. In Shanghai, workers are rushing to set up huge temporary facilities in showrooms and elsewhere to try to house all those who test positive.
The lockdown across the city has disrupted daily life and the economy. Many residents, trapped in their apartment buildings, try to buy food through apps and place mass orders with neighbors. Some quarantines have posted videos showing chaotic scenes of people rushing to get food and lack of clean toilets. Others have posted appeals to relatives in urgent need of medication.
The United States said Friday that it was allowing the release of unnecessary staff and family members from its consulate in Shanghai because of the situation.
The government has trumpeted its success in curbing COVID-19, touting it as proof of China’s superiority in governance – especially compared to western democracies, where deaths far exceed those of China. This narrative, experts say, makes it difficult for Beijing to change tactics.
“They were very fond of their own people for how wonderful they are, and now they are painted in a corner,” Yip said. “The only way they can control Shanghai now is to repeat what they did to Wuhan.”
Wuhan’s 11 million people were stranded for more than two months at the start of the 2020 pandemic.
The Shanghai lockdown came abruptly just a month ago, when some Chinese health experts publicly proposed easing pandemic control measures.
The economic importance of the city and the advanced health care system left the officials reluctant to impose strict measures and confidence to fight any cases. Further, Chinese leader Xi Jinping ordered the ongoing cases in China to be controlled at “minimal cost” in mid-March, stressing Beijing’s desire to protect the economy while curbing the virus.
Shanghai has taken targeted steps, locking individual office buildings, shopping malls and neighborhoods for 48 hours at a time, but otherwise allowing life to continue as usual.
With mild measures, the number of cases in the city increased. The outbreak spread to at least 71 other cities, according to a statement from Guangxi Province in southern China, and pressure mounted on tougher measures.
On March 28, the city launched an eight-day lockdown in two phases, which has since evolved into one across the city without end.
“There is no time to lose,” Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chunlan said during a visit to the city last weekend, according to a government statement. “We need to move faster and harder to provide strong support for eradicating cases in society.”
The actions sent nurses and doctors into quarantine, causing conditions to worsen at Donghai Elderly Care.
Chen Jielei said the outbreak at the hospital infected her unvaccinated, partially paralyzed 81-year-old mother. Because the staff members also fell ill, her mother did not serve her meals on time and her sheets remained unchanged for days. After a few days, a replacement started taking care of her.
A college teacher, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared punishment, said his family had not been notified for more than a day after his 82-year-old father died on March 31. His last contact was on March 28 with an assistant nurse who called to warn that there were positive cases and they could no longer take care of his father.
“In those three days, what happened to my father? What kind of abuse did he suffer? ” asked. His father’s condition was stable on March 28 when he spoke to the assistant nurse.
Shen remained in the hospital for three years after her stroke. Family members visited every week. However, the visits were banned in early March as the COVID-19 epidemic spread to Shanghai, the relative said.
They were not initially worried because the hospital was always very responsive and was in contact with the paramedics who cared for Shen. But an authorizing officer warned on March 26 that there were positive cases and many Donghai staff were quarantined.
The hospital hired temporary nursing assistants, but many had no health care experience, said one nursing assistant.
The woman, who only gave Zhang her last name, said a job search office told her it was a cleaning job.
“They said your job is just to clean, you won’t even have to wear a protective suit. “But what they said was completely different from what I had to do,” he said.
Shen needed to be helped to eat through a tube by stirring her food in a liquid. She also had a tube in her throat that had to be disinfected every day.
“In the past, if there was a problem, they always called me. “This time, there was not even a voice message and he died so suddenly,” said the relative. The hospital is now asking the families to sign a form for cremation. Shen’s relative said the family would refuse until he received a clear answer.
The hospital sent an apology letter to some of the families on Wednesday. The AP saw a copy.
“Due to the emergency of the epidemic, …
