China is reportedly being ravaged by a mysterious viral outbreak that is overwhelming some hospitals and prompting people to wear face masks again.
Social media videos depict overcrowded hospital units, with patients gathered in large numbers, and parents waiting with ill children in pediatric wards during late hours.
Furthermore, there are unverified claims circulating online suggesting that crematoriums are facing an influx of cases. The absence of official statements has prompted some to draw parallels to the initial stages of the Covid pandemic.
According to local media sources, the recent surge has been linked to a relatively unknown virus known as human metapneumovirus (HMPV), typically causing mild cold-like symptoms. However, authorities have not yet verified this information.
The situation is similar to winter 2022/23 when China was hit with a wave of mycoplasma pneumonia cases, a condition dubbed ‘white lung’.
That crisis was blamed on children having low natural immunity due to the effects of China’s harsh lockdowns and school closure measures aimed at containing Covid.
Official reports from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that regular flu is leading the outbreak, with 30 percent of tests coming back positive for influenza and one in seven people hospitalized with a severe respiratory illness testing positive for it.
The above is a grab from a video posted online claiming to show an overwhelmed hospital unit in China
The Chinese government and World Health Organization are yet to address the videos publicly, which are being widely circulated on social media.
But the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention warned that rates of multiple flu-like illnesses are on the rise.
In its latest report, for the week to December 29, data suggested that 7.2 percent of outpatient visits to local hospitals in northern provinces were due to a flu-like illness.
This was up 12 percent on the previous week, and above the levels for the same week every flu season since 2021.
Data for the southern part of the country suggested that 5.7 percent of outpatient visits were due to flu-like illness.
This was up 21 percent on the previous week, and also above the level’s for the same week in 2021 when 4.1 percent of visits were due to flu-like illness. It was, however, below the levels in 2022 and 2023.
NORTHERN PROVINCES: The above graph shows the proportion of visits to hospital for flu-like illness in northern provinces by week. The red line is for 2024 – 2025 flu season, and shows levels are at their highest since 2021
SOUTHERN PROVINCES: The above shows the proportion of outpatient visits due to flu-like illness in southern provinces over previous years. The red line is for the 2024 to 2025 flu season
Videos claiming to show overwhelmed hospital units in China started to appear online around New Year’s Eve.
They claim to show hospitals in Hunan — a province in the center of the country — as well as other areas.
Aboluowang News, a US-based news provider covering China, published quotes claimed to be from a farmer in Hunan province, known as Mr Peng, who said he was caught up in the surge to hospitals.
‘A lot of people have caught colds, and most of them have [illness],’ he said in translated quotes.
‘Some have rhinitis or something like that. About seven or eight people died this week in this area. Some were in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 40s.’
It also published quotes it said were from a funeral director, called Ms Wang, who was claimed to have told them there were long lines at her crematorium.
‘There are long lines for cremation now,’ she said in translated quotes. ‘Today, three VIP furnaces were opened.
‘They were all burning and emitting a lot of smoke. It was terrible. If you don’t know about the crematorium, you would think it is selling New Year goods, just like holding a trade fair during the Chinese New Year.’
The above are clips from videos claiming to show overwhelmed hospitals in China
This is a grab from a video posted online which claims to show an overwhelmed hospital unit in China
This is also a grab from a video posted online which claims to show an overwhelmed hospital unit in China
In another case, a Chinese video blogger called ‘Please Fei Ge’, said he and his wife had fallen ill with a disease after traveling to Guangzhou for an event.
After returning to their home province, which was not named, both had a fever, body aches and headaches — and isolated from their children for three days to avoid transmitting the infection.
He was quoted saying: ‘This feeling is exactly the same as when I got “yang” back then. It’s very uncomfortable. If you still remember that feeling, wear a mask when you go out in crowded places.’
The alarm was also raised in China last year over a surge in mystery pneumonia cases among children, with videos being posted online of mask-wearing crowds surging into Beijing’s hospitals.
Chinese officials said at the time the outbreak was not caused by a new virus, but was due to a rebound in diseases after the end of lockdowns.
