When Mr Chen’s 85-year-old father fell ill with Covid in December, it was impossible to get an ambulance or see a doctor.
He went to Beijing’s Chaoyang Hospital, where he was told to either try another hospital or sit in the corridor with an IV drip.
“There were no beds, no ventilators, no medical equipment available,” Mr Chen told JEE News.
His father managed to find a bed in another hospital, but only through a special contact, and by then he had developed a severe lung infection.
The elder Mr Chen has now recovered, but his son fears another infection could kill him in the future.
They say that three years of measures to prevent Covid were a complete waste and failure, as the government eased controls too quickly, without any preparation, and many people have caught the virus.
“The epidemic will come back again. For the elderly, they can only count on their luck,” says Mr Chen.
The latest step in China’s swift reversal of its controversial zero-covid policy came on Sunday when it reopened its borders to international travel. After mass testing, strict quarantines and a sudden, mass lockdown ended, families like Mr. Chen are wary of what lies ahead.
But younger Chinese, not all of whom want to be named, feel differently – and some told JEE News they were voluntarily exposing themselves to the infection.
A 27-year-old coder in Shanghai, who had not received any Chinese vaccines, says he voluntarily exposed himself to the virus.
“Because I don’t want to change my vacation plans,” he explains, “and I can make sure that I recover and won’t get re-infected during the vacation if I accidentally get infected.” I control the time of happening.” He admits he didn’t expect the muscle aches that come with the infection, but says the symptoms are largely as expected.
Another Shanghai resident, a 26-year-old woman, told JEE News she went to visit her friend who had tested positive “so I could get Covid too”.
But she says her recovery has been difficult: “I thought it would be like a cold but it was so painful.”
