'Impossible' to track: China drops COVID case count amid explosive outbreak

Enlarge / This image grab from AFPTV video footage shows people queuing outside a fever clinic amid the Covid-19 pandemic in Beijing on December 14, 2022. Getty | YUXUAN ZHANG/AFPTV/AFP

Amid what appears to be an explosive outbreak of COVID-19, China said on Wednesday it would no longer report asymptomatic cases because they became "impossible" to track after testing ended mandatory.

The now voluntary testing policy is part of a sharp departure from the country's strict zero COVID policy that has sparked widespread protests in recent weeks.

After years of keeping SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks largely at bay through various restrictions, mandatory isolations, quarantines, lockdowns and extensive testing, China last week significantly eased its unpopular policy. The State Council announced on December 7 that residents would no longer be required to submit to frequent PCR tests for COVID-19. It also removed the requirement to use digital health passes — personal QR codes that tracked an individual's movements and COVID-19 test results — for access to buildings and public transport. And for the first time during the pandemic, the government has also allowed people with mild or asymptomatic infections to self-isolate at home rather than in centralized facilities, which residents have often criticized as unsanitary and overcrowded. p>

The dramatic reversals came in response to widespread protests and discontent. But the abrupt changes amid rising cases have only heightened fears that the pandemic is now spreading wildly among China's vulnerable population, which is largely unprotected from past infections and is only vaccinated with national vaccines that are supposed to offer less protection than mRNA vaccines. used in much of the rest of the world.

Not counted

Without centralized testing, people in China are now relying on rapid home testing for the first time during the pandemic. But there is no centralized way to report the results. The only reported case numbers currently are for people with symptoms who have confirmed cases after being tested at government facilities.

Thus, China reported only 2,249 confirmed domestic infections on Wednesday, bringing the official total number of cases during the pandemic to 369,918. The government has also reported 5,235 deaths, although there are reports that China has changed the way it counts deaths, potentially not including deaths related to underlying conditions.

The true number of cases is likely several times higher, although firm estimates cannot be obtained. Beijing reporters report empty streets, shuttered shops and takeout-only restaurants. Social media platforms are full of anecdotes of mass infection and people staying to avoid infection themselves.

CNN spoke to a community worker who said 21 of the 24 workers at the Beijing Neighborhood Committee office had fallen ill in recent days. The Associated Press reported that some hospitals are struggling to keep staff because so many employees are sick. The AP noted that the only places in Beijing that appeared to be bustling were some fever clinics and pharmacies, where COVID tests and cold and flu medicines were low.