Residents across China tell The Epoch Times they believe it’s far more severe than what the official data indicate.
COVID-19 cases in China increased by more than 160 percent in May, according to the latest official data from the Chinese communist regime. But Chinese residents across the country continue to report to The Epoch Times and on social media that they believe the situation is more serious than what authorities have acknowledged.
The Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) released its national COVID-19 epidemic data for May on June 5, reporting 440,662 cases, including 606 severe cases and seven deaths, soaring above April’s 168,507 cases, 340 severe cases, and nine deaths.
“The number of newly confirmed cases reported daily fluctuated up to the peak on May 26 and then fluctuated down,” the China CDC said, while identifying the main epidemic strain as NB.1.8.1—a sixth-generation sub-branch of the XDV Omicron variant.
Liu Qiyong, a researcher at the China CDC, said at a National Health Commission press briefing on June 5 that the COVID-19 outbreak in China reached a peak in May but “is showing a downward trend in some provinces.”
Liu added that currently, clinical cases are mostly mild, and existing detection reagents and drugs are still effective.
Tang Jingyuan, a U.S.-based physician and current affairs commentator, told The Epoch Times on June 7 that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials are saying the outbreak is on a downward trend to avoid public panic.
“The data for June has not been released yet,“ he said. ”I think their purpose of saying it is to avoid panic among the public that there will be a larger-scale outbreak this summer. This wave of epidemic is still developing, and it is difficult for us to draw the conclusion that this … has already reached its peak.”
Tang was skeptical about the claim that the current testing and treatment drugs are effective against new virus strains.
“If a drug is effective against a disease, it means that it can be clearly shown by medical statistics to strictly control the disease,“ he said. ”However, what we see now is that the COVID-19 epidemic has ushered in a wave of peaks in the summer.”
Residents across China told The Epoch Times that the situation is far more severe and that the official data continue to not match their lived experience. Many of them have turned to traditional Chinese medicine for treatment.
Because of the CCP’s history of covering up information and publishing unreliable data, including underreporting COVID-19 infections and related deaths since early 2020, accounts from local doctors and residents can offer valuable information for understanding the situation on the ground in the totalitarian country.
Lasting Symptoms
Chen Yang, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner in Zhuzhou city of Hunan Province who asked to use a pseudonym out of safety concerns, told The Epoch Times that two adults had recently visited his clinic for help with treating their COVID-19 symptoms.
“Their symptoms were relatively serious, including cough, sore throat, and fever. Their symptoms lasted longer than a cold,” Chen said.
Chen said he knows some people who died from COVID-19 in this wave of the outbreak, but even five years on, “the hospitals don’t say it is COVID-19, and the Communist Party does not admit it and does not allow hospitals to say it.”
Mr. Jian, a resident of the megacity Shenzhen who gave only his last name out of concern for his safety, told The Epoch Times that many fever clinics in Shenzhen hospitals have long lines.
Mr. Jian said that he believes that “this is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19, and the symptoms of the patients are all sore throats, fever, etc., which last for at least more than a week.”
He added that even if someone dies from COVID-19 infections, “the government will not let people know that he died of this disease.”
Mr. Shi, another resident of Shenzhen who gave only his last name because of safety concerns, told The Epoch Times that he’s seen many people infected with the virus this wave.
“A higher proportion of children have been infected. Symptoms are generally fever and chills,” Shi said.
“Doctors don’t tell patients what virus it is and ask them to go back to take COVID-19 testing at home. Many people tested positive.”
Dr. Jonathan Liu, director of Liu’s Wisdom Healing Centre and a professor at Canada Public College, told The Epoch Times on June 7 that although the SARS-CoV-2 virus is mutating, “the main manifestations are respiratory symptoms.”
“But for individuals, some people may directly suffer myocardial damage, and suffer from some serious heart disorders or sudden cardiac death,” he said.
Liu added that at this stage of the outbreaks in mainland China, “there may still be various pathogens, in addition to the COVID-19, that are causing infections.”
NB1.8.1 Spreading Internationally
As the wave of infections in China continues, many countries, including the United States, have been reporting increased NB1.8.1 cases.
The World Health Organization has classified NB1.8.1 as a “variant under monitoring.”
Compared with the LP.8.1 variant that currently dominates cases in the United States, NB.1.8.1 retains “high ACE2 affinity and humoral immune evasion, supporting its potential for future dominance,” Dr. James Lawler of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Global Center for Health Security in Omaha told MedPage Today, citing research reports coming out of China.
Tang said it has been confirmed that “this strain not only has a stronger ability to spread but also has a stronger ability to evade immunity.”
“If this momentum is not contained in time, then it is possible that a new wave of outbreaks will occur around the world this summer,” he said.
“It is actually a recombinant mutant strain, which means it is a mixture of two or more mutant Omicron strains. So the experts don’t have a clear understanding, after this hybrid recombination, what kind of mutation will it undergo and what kind of aftereffects will it have. We are still observing it.”
Luo Ya, Fang Xiao, and Xiong Bin contributed to this report.
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