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Amid China’s coronavirus crisis, Beijing draws doctors and staff from provinces to ease overwhelmed hospitals
- Hundreds of doctors and nurses from eastern provinces called to duty in capital while their own hospitals also struggle to cope with surge in cases
- Public scepticism over China’s official virus death toll; high-profile deaths include renowned designer, former footballer and opera singer
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China has sent hundreds of healthcare workers, some specialising in critical care, to the capital Beijing to ease the burden at heavily strained hospitals amid a tsunami of infections.
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At least 500 doctors and nurses from Shandong province in eastern China and dozens from neighbouring Jiangsu have been sent to hospitals across the city – despite manpower shortages in their home hospitals – to help battle the worst Covid-19 wave Beijing has seen in the past three years.
Medical teams have been sent to Beijing before but only to help with PCR testing when zero-Covid was the national response.
This month’s assignment cannot compare to the 42,000 doctors and nurses sent to Wuhan in early 2020 to rescue the crushed healthcare system at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.
However, the fact that outside help is needed in Beijing, which has the top medical resources in the country, highlights how fragile the healthcare system is as it faces an unprecedented Covid-19 wave following the government’s change in pandemic response.
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Hospital in China overwhelmed with patients after Covid controls eased
Hospital in China overwhelmed with patients after Covid controls eased
A general office employee at the Second Hospital of Shandong University, who was not authorised to speak to the media and wished to remain anonymous, said the hospital sent a team out several days ago at the request of the provincial health authority and had not been told when they would return.
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