Amid Covid spike Chinese cities distribute free fever drugs

Beijing: Chinese cities began distributing free anti-fever drugs to the public, as Covid-19 ravages over world’s most populous country after it largely abandoned its zero- COVID policy.

China this month began dismantling its “zero-covid” policy in response to widespread protests and a relentless surge in cases.
The official death toll for the nation since the pandemic started in early 2020 is 5,241, which is still a small number compared to what other nations with considerably smaller populations suffered, according to Reuters report.

China reported no Covid deaths for the second day in a row on December 21. As of Tuesday, the nation had confirmed 389,306 cases with symptoms, the report further added.

However, experts claim that official figures have become an unreliable guide as less testing is being done across China following the recent easing of restrictions.

According to a Reuters report, Shanghai Deji Hospital, posted on its official WeChat account, estimated there were about 5.43 million positives in the city and that half of the 25 million people in China’s main commercial hub will get infected by the end of the year.

The head of the World Health Organization expressed concern over the rise in COVID infections and said the organisation supports the government’s decision to concentrate on vaccinating individuals who are most at risk.

Cities providing free drugs

Dongguan, a large city in southern China, said that a total of 100,000 ibuprofen tablets had arrived in the city and will be given to 41 state drug stores this week before being made available for free, according to a report by Global Times.

In Wuhan, the central city, 3 million ibuprofen tablets have been supplied to medical institutions and retail pharmacies each day since 17 December, the report said.

Shenzhen, China’s major tech hub north of Hong Kong, announced on Wednesday it was splitting packages of drugs and test kits into smaller batches than originally planned, to sell to more people. The batches will cover three days of supplies for anti-fever drugs, it said.

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