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How badly has COVID-19 affected some of China’s villages?

CNA visited villages in the Hebei province to find out the situation on the ground, after China abruptly relaxed its zero-COVID policy in early December last year.

How badly has COVID-19 affected some of China’s villages?

Hebei native Cao Liqiang with his son. He has played in a funeral band for 13 years, but has never been as busy as in the months leading up to Chinese New Year. (Photo: CNA/Olivia Siong)

HEBEI PROVINCE, China: Mr Cao Liqiang has played in a funeral band for 13 years, but the Hebei native has never been as busy as in the months leading up to Chinese New Year in late January this year.

The crematorium in Yutian County in the Hebei province used to cremate about 60 bodies a day at its peak in the past. But before Chinese New Year, the figure reached 200 a day, said Mr Cao.  

This was after China abruptly relaxed its zero-COVID policy in early December last year, leading to a spike in infections across the country. 

"In the middle of the night, cars were lining up at the gate of the crematorium. Coffins were in short supply. Even if you pre-ordered it when you were alive, it wouldn’t be available when you died,” the 29-year-old said. 

In other villages CNA visited in Hebei province, the story was similar, with residents speaking about neighbours who died after getting infected with the virus before the Chinese New Year, many of them seniors with pre-existing illness.  

They pointed to fresh graves in the distance. 

One restaurant owner saw a spike in funeral catering requests in December.

However, with relatives and friends unable to attend the funeral, there were fewer tables and people at the funeral banquet, said its owner Lu Jingwei. 

MEDICINE STOCK AT PHARMACIES 

Several pharmacies CNA visited in the province said there have been fewer customers looking to buy medication to treat COVID-related symptoms such as fever and sneezing. The stock of such medication varied across the province.

About one or two people were seen entering one village pharmacy over 10 minutes. Fever medicine was not in stock there, said staff, although they were available in other pharmacies CNA visited. 

In spite of an improvement, the COVID-19 situation in China clearly still looks to be sensitive. Local county officials checked on the CNA journalist and crew several times, interested to know who they were speaking to.

Ibuprofen at a pharmacy in Tangshan, Hebei province. (Photo: CNA/Olivia Siong)

One doctor CNA spoke to at Dongjiang village under the watchful eye of minders maintained that there has been no COVID-19 death case in a village of 2,000 residents. 

"There are people who have died, but it’s not because of COVID-19. What I understand is there is none who died directly because of COVID-19, we have not heard of this incident reported by the people in the village,” said the doctor, who wanted to be known only as Chen.  

SITUATION IMPROVING 

While official statistics showed that small towns and rural areas avoided a spike in COVID-19 infection that experts had feared after the Chinese New Year travel rush, there still remain questions about the true extent of China's COVID-19 situation, and the resulting death toll as the tally includes only those who died in hospital. 

The situation, however, appears to be improving based on the demand for Mr Cao’s services. His work is slowing down, he said.

He was happy to reunite with his family after three months apart. The father of two had sent his five-year-old son, baby daughter and wife to live with his mother in an apartment near the village, after witnessing rising community infection in his neighbourhood. 

Mr Cao was more comfortable with the stricter measures, as he is still concerned that his son may get infected, especially as he attends school in person again. 

“It is very difficult for your child if they are COVID-19 positive, there is no space in the hospital. It’s better to be like in the past, to control things a bit,” he said.  

As the worst seems to be over, officials in rural areas say they will now focus on vulnerable groups like seniors, children and pregnant women.

Source: CNA/ja

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