https://www.scmp.com/rss/514385/feed Zhenzhen Liu joined the Post as an intern on the China Desk in 2022. She is studying for a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Hong Kong and will graduate in 2023. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Digital Cultures and Asian Studies at the University of Sydney. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com China has imported “hundreds of thousands” of boxes of Merck’s Covid-19 antiviral treatment molnupiravir and they could be available by the end of next week, a senior executive with Sinopharm Group said. The oral drug will be sold under the brand name Lagevrio at a cost of 1,500 yuan (US$220) for 40 pills, Tianjin’s medical purchasing centre said in a statement on Tuesday. The announcement came after China’s national health insurance authority on Sunday said Pfizer’s antiviral treatment for... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3206430/coronavirus-merck-drug-could-be-available-china-end-next-week-sinopharm-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3206430/coronavirus-merck-drug-could-be-available-china-end-next-week-sinopharm-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jan 2023 10:15:23 +0000 Daily coronavirus infections are dropping in many parts of China, but the wave of severe illness is far from over, health authorities said. Covid-19 has spread like wildfire across China since early December, when Beijing pivoted to living with the virus after three years of strict zero-Covid measures. Public health experts projected infections would peak at different times in different parts of the country, with rural areas lagging behind. But it appears the peak has arrived earlier than... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3206286/coronavirus-chinas-covid-19-cases-are-dropping-severe-illness-wave-still-way?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3206286/coronavirus-chinas-covid-19-cases-are-dropping-severe-illness-wave-still-way?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Jan 2023 10:32:03 +0000 China will monitor new Covid-19 variants from inbound travellers by collecting samples from hospitals and using genome sequencing under a new control plan announced on Saturday. It will also allow local governments to reimpose restrictions on gatherings, order workplaces and schools to go online, and suspend “non-essential activities”, including events, performances and conferences. The country has already seen a surge in cases after lifting restrictions last month, and is worried that the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205960/china-says-it-will-track-new-covid-variants-inbound-travellers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205960/china-says-it-will-track-new-covid-variants-inbound-travellers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Jan 2023 12:49:55 +0000 Suspects held in custody in Covid-related cases should be released in “a timely and proper manner” following the U-turn on zero-Covid, the Chinese government announced on Saturday. A government notice also said that any property that had been seized or frozen should be released, while quarantine and control measures at the state borders will also no longer be criminalised. Coronavirus: why do China’s ‘mild’ Covid symptoms feel so unbearable? It was jointly released by five different Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205950/china-says-covid-detainees-should-be-released-timely-manner-after-lifting-controls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205950/china-says-covid-detainees-should-be-released-timely-manner-after-lifting-controls?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Jan 2023 09:07:52 +0000 Diarrhoea pills have sparked the latest Covid-related hoarding spree in China, after online rumours of an imminent new wave caused by the Omicron subvariant XBB. Health experts hastened to quash the rumours, saying diarrhoea was not a particular symptom of Covid-19 caused by the XBB variant and it was “extremely unlikely” that China would see a new wave within three months. But their assurances failed to stop the panic buying. The rumours began after a WeChat user warned about the highly... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205725/rumours-new-xbb-variant-covid-19-wave-spark-run-anti-diarrhoea-drugs-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205725/rumours-new-xbb-variant-covid-19-wave-spark-run-anti-diarrhoea-drugs-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Jan 2023 12:01:10 +0000 Seventy per cent of the population in Shanghai may have already been infected with Covid-19 after China’s sudden U-turn on zero-Covid last month, according to a leading doctor in the city. Chen Erzhen, vice president at Ruijin Hospital and member of Shanghai’s Covid-19 expert advisory panel, told the party mouthpiece People’s Daily that the situation had changed significantly compared with the city’s prolonged lockdown last spring, when more than 600,000 were infected and nearly 600 died in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3205455/covid-19-china-70-cent-shanghais-population-has-now-been-infected-says-leading-city-doctor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3205455/covid-19-china-70-cent-shanghais-population-has-now-been-infected-says-leading-city-doctor?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Jan 2023 11:55:13 +0000 People in cities across China rushed to local landmarks to count down to 2023, many of them freshly recovered from Covid-19 and eager for a return to normal festivities after almost three years of pandemic restrictions. This came as infections peaked in major cities like Beijing, Tianjin, Chengdu and Chongqing, even as wave after wave of Covid-19 sweeps across the country following the lifting of the zero-Covid policy. Chinese cities pass Covid peak, but rural surge still to come, researchers... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205334/coronavirus-chinese-revellers-pack-public-squares-see-2022-and-3-years-zero-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205334/coronavirus-chinese-revellers-pack-public-squares-see-2022-and-3-years-zero-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Jan 2023 11:23:17 +0000 The Chinese government has said it will improve medical services and supplies in rural areas ahead of next month’s Lunar New Year’s travel rush. A notice released on Saturday said the government would accelerate the production of Covid medicines, allocate more equipment to rural areas, ensure public access to over-the-counter medicines and monitor sales of RAT test kits and fever medication. These measures were “to ensure the supply of essential goods and epidemic control resources in rural... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205193/china-moves-boost-rural-health-services-covid-cases-surges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205193/china-moves-boost-rural-health-services-covid-cases-surges?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Dec 2022 11:54:44 +0000 The World Health Organization has urged China to share specific and timely information on its coronavirus situation in the light of global concerns about a lack of transparency in the surging number of Covid-19 cases in the country. At an online meeting with officials from China’s National Health Commission and National Disease Control and Prevention Administration on Friday, it asked the Chinese officials to regularly share “specific and real-time data on the epidemiological situation”,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3205172/who-urges-china-share-more-information-surging-covid-19-infections?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3205172/who-urges-china-share-more-information-surging-covid-19-infections?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Dec 2022 07:30:56 +0000 Prominent Chinese television anchor Zhu Jun appears to have made his way back to state-owned broadcaster CCTV, four years after his alleged sexual harassment of a female intern ignited a scandal. Zhu posted a photo of himself with the CCTV headquarters in the background on Weibo on Thursday. It was accompanied by the text: “Counting down to the New Year, [I am] on my way to work at the TV station. There are traffic jams in Beijing again!” Hashtags that translate to “Zhu Jun returned to work at... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205081/chinese-tv-host-accused-metoo-scandal-trumpets-return-state-broadcaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205081/chinese-tv-host-accused-metoo-scandal-trumpets-return-state-broadcaster?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Dec 2022 09:03:12 +0000 The first time Huang Lipeng came across a “pulse oximeter” was on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, last week. The 30-year-old IT engineer from Zhuhai, in southern China’s Guangdong province, quickly bought an oximeter for his family after watching videos that said people with diabetes should pay special attention to their blood oxygen levels. His 60-year-old father has severe diabetes while his mother has had surgery for uterine cancer. Omicron BA.5 subvariant may cause more damage – not less:... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3204975/coronavirus-china-drugs-and-medical-devices-are-hottest-tickets-online?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3204975/coronavirus-china-drugs-and-medical-devices-are-hottest-tickets-online?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Dec 2022 22:00:08 +0000 Three years ago, overseas Chinese were buying masks to send home to China, where the emerging pandemic caused acute shortages of the facial coverings. Now, it is medicines at the top of the shopping list as Covid-19 sweeps across the mainland. The sudden abandonment of China’s zero-Covid policy has caught many off guard and unprepared for the surge in demand for common fever and pain treatments. The industrial production authority says it has taken measures to increase manufacturing capacity,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3204787/overseas-chinese-rush-send-covid-19-pain-relief-mainland-relatives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3204787/overseas-chinese-rush-send-covid-19-pain-relief-mainland-relatives?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Dec 2022 08:00:09 +0000 In two weeks, the biggest annual human migration on Earth will begin for the Lunar New Year, lasting about 40 days. Travel platforms such as Qunar.com have predicted a surge in trips throughout China that could reach 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels. But as hundreds of millions of people prepare for a long-awaited return home, worries are growing that the waves of Covid-19 infections sweeping China’s big cities will overwhelm smaller urbans centres and rural areas. In these areas, health systems... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3204451/covid-rages-rural-china-ready-biggest-travel-surge-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3204451/covid-rages-rural-china-ready-biggest-travel-surge-years?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Dec 2022 14:30:09 +0000 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. 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... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3204293/amid-chinas-coronavirus-crisis-beijing-draws-doctors-and-staff-provinces-ease-overwhelmed-hospitals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3204293/amid-chinas-coronavirus-crisis-beijing-draws-doctors-and-staff-provinces-ease-overwhelmed-hospitals?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Dec 2022 22:00:11 +0000 Beijing has further eased pandemic control measures as Covid-19 surges through the Chinese capital, putting pressure on healthcare resources and causing shortages of drugs to treat the infection. The city recorded the deaths on Monday of five people, whose details were undisclosed, and 456 new Covid-19 cases. These followed two fatalities recorded on Sunday, but the true scale of the outbreak is beyond measure, with the dropping of PCR testing for individuals and no self-reporting mechanism for... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3203961/beijing-reopening-continues-covid-19-surge-pressures-health-system?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3203961/beijing-reopening-continues-covid-19-surge-pressures-health-system?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Dec 2022 08:30:10 +0000 China reported two Covid-related deaths on Monday, the first official fatalities since the government abandoned its stringent anti-virus controls earlier this month. Benjamin Cowling, head of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Hong Kong, said the number of deaths reported since the restrictions eased was “a bit smaller than we might expect, but consistent with the very low rate of PCR testing in China now”. “I think there are deaths due to Covid in China which are not laboratory... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3203885/china-reports-first-2-covid-deaths-virus-controls-eased?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3203885/china-reports-first-2-covid-deaths-virus-controls-eased?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Dec 2022 12:45:34 +0000 The megacity of Chongqing in southwestern China is asking people with mild Covid-19 symptoms or no symptoms at all to work as usual as case numbers surge in the aftermath of Beijing’s policy pivot. The announcement came a day after the eastern province of Zhejiang – a major economic hub in China – said those with no symptoms could “continue to work, if need be, if they took requisite personal protections”. The big step towards living with Covid-19 came as China’s authorities suddenly stopped... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3203830/coronavirus-after-chinas-pandemic-backflip-megacity-urges-people-mild-symptoms-keep-turning-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3203830/coronavirus-after-chinas-pandemic-backflip-megacity-urges-people-mild-symptoms-keep-turning-work?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Dec 2022 08:56:01 +0000 Macau is best known for its casinos but now, for some Chinese, its big attraction is the BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. The mRNA vaccine is widely used in Hong Kong, Macau and around the world but is not approved for use in mainland China. But last month Macau’s Covid-19 Infection Response Coordination Centre announced that it was lifting restrictions on vaccinations for short-stay visitors. And since then, the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) Hospital – the only vaccination site... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3203625/coronavirus-cases-surge-mainland-chinese-head-macau-get-mrna-vaccine-unavailable-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3203625/coronavirus-cases-surge-mainland-chinese-head-macau-get-mrna-vaccine-unavailable-home?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Dec 2022 04:00:10 +0000 The terrorist attack on a Chinese-run hotel in Kabul on Monday has again raised safety concerns for China’s business community in Afghanistan. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on the Kabul Longan Hotel, known as the “go-to” hotel for Chinese visitors to the Afghan capital. Local media reported shots and explosions coming from the hotel, while witnesses told Chinese state media that a gunfight had lasted for an hour and more than 10 explosions occurred. Chinese tabloid Global... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3203146/kabul-terror-attack-may-prompt-rethink-chinese-investors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3203146/kabul-terror-attack-may-prompt-rethink-chinese-investors?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Dec 2022 10:07:04 +0000 As China’s official response to managing Covid-19 evolves, public attitudes towards the disease have begun to shift. A few months ago, people diagnosed with Covid-19 lived under shadows of stigma, isolation and even unemployment. Few, if any, public figures would reveal they had been infected. But as China moves away from harsh zero-Covid measures, the official rhetoric has stopped referring to the illness as something that needs to be contained. Suddenly, Covid-19 infections are being talked... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3203046/coronavirus-chinese-celebs-influencers-open-about-their-covid-19-experiences?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3203046/coronavirus-chinese-celebs-influencers-open-about-their-covid-19-experiences?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Dec 2022 02:00:15 +0000 The Chinese government is targeting online pharmacies for the surging price of Covid-19 medication, with offenders facing potential fines of up to 5 million yuan (US$706,000). The prices of several medications have soared in local pharmacies and online platforms. Since early December, the price of Lianhua Qingwen, a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat Covid-19, has risen to 88 yuan from 23.5 yuan on an online pharmaceutical platform, a fourfold increase in less than a month, according to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3202757/china-punishes-online-pharmacies-price-gouging-covid-19-medication?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3202757/china-punishes-online-pharmacies-price-gouging-covid-19-medication?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Dec 2022 13:00:10 +0000 China has called on Japan to beware of the “zero-sum game trap” and not join any bloc confrontations targeting Beijing, but rather work together to tackle global challenges. Addressing an event to mark half a century since the normalisation of ties, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said: “China and Japan should treat each other with sincerity and strive to live together peacefully”, rather than provoke each other’s core interests, including “heavily sensitive issues involving history and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3202409/china-calls-japan-shun-bloc-confrontation-sensitive-issues-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3202409/china-calls-japan-shun-bloc-confrontation-sensitive-issues-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Dec 2022 12:00:09 +0000