Hundreds line up in China hospital as respiratory illness surges, video shows

globalnews.ca:

China eased its zero-tolerance policy on COVID-19 — a policy that gave municipalities sweeping powers to institute quarantines and mandatory testing to keep COVID-19 cases under control. While unpopular with residents, the policy helped China keep COVID-19 cases relatively low.Many countries around the world saw spikes in respiratory illnesses after loosening pandemic restrictions.

Last year in November, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) sounded the alarm on rising flu cases, indicating the “start of an influenza epidemic.” At the same time, the U.S. was reporting its highest number of flu hospitalizations since 2010.Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) asked Chinese authorities to provide data on the surge of respiratory illnesses after reports emerged about clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children’s hospitals in Beijing and Liaoning provinces.The next day, WHO held a teleconference with Chinese health authorities in which the requested data was provided, showing an increase in hospital admissions of children due to mycoplasma pneumonia since May, as well as a rise in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus and influenza cases since October.Chinese health authorities told the UN health agency that there has been no detection of “unusual or novel pathogens” amid the rise in respiratory illness.Outside scientists said the situation warranted close monitoring but were not convinced that the recent spike in China signalled the start of a new global outbreak.

The emergence of new viruses capable of triggering pandemics typically starts with undiagnosed clusters of respiratory illness. Both SARS and COVID-19 were first reported as unusual types of pneumonia.“Some of these increases are earlier in