The World Health Organisation has requested “detailed information” from Chinese authorities during an increase in respiratory illnesses and pneumonia among children in northern China.
“Since mid-October, northern China has reported an increase in influenza-like illness compared with the same period in the previous three years,” the organisation said on Wednesday.
Clusters of “undiagnosed pneumonia” in children were reported on November 21 by the media and the Programme for Monitoring Emergency Diseases.
It comes as media reports point to children's hospitals in Beijing and other cities being overwhelmed with sick children and schools on the brink of suspending lessons.
Beijing Children's Hospital is crowded with children seeking treatment, while the lobby of Dalian's Children Hospital is “full of sick children on intravenous drips”, the International Society for Infectious Diseases quoted one report as saying.
“Many, many are hospitalised. They don't cough and have no symptoms,” a man in Beijing, identified only as Mr W, told Taiwan's FTV News.
State-run media has acknowledged overcrowding in children's hospitals, during a period of "high incidence of infectious diseases".
National Health Commission officials on Thursday said children with any respiratory problems for more than three days should seek medical help, according to an interview with Xinhua News Agency.
It is the first such wave since most anti-Covid measures were lifted, and has been “particularly ferocious” since China’s National Day holiday in October, a director of a children’s medical centre in Beijing told local media.
'Pandemic clock ticking'
“This report suggests a widespread outbreak of an undiagnosed respiratory illness in several areas in China as Beijing and Liaoning [province] are almost 800km apart. It is not at all clear when this outbreak started as it would be unusual for so many children to be affected so quickly,” said ProMed Rapporteur Dan Silver. Schools may be the source of exposure he added.
“It is too early to project whether this could be another pandemic, but as a wise influenza virologist once said to me, 'The pandemic clock is ticking, we just do not know what time it is'.”
“It is unclear if these are associated with the overall increase in respiratory infections previously reported by Chinese authorities, or separate events,” the WHO said.
The sharp rise in case numbers followed a press conference held by Chinese authorities on November 13, in which officials from the National Health Commission “reported an increase in incidence of respiratory diseases in China”, attributed to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and a variety of common illnesses, it added.
China, which first reported the outbreak of Covid-19 in late 2019, adopted some of the most stringent rules in the world in an effort to contain the pandemic.
Standing firm with its Zero-Covid policy, which led to the eruption of rare protests late last year, authorities only began to ease regulations in December, lifting lockdowns in several cities and dropping home quarantine requirements in certain cases.
The WHO has requested “additional epidemiologic and clinical information, as well as laboratory results from these reported clusters among children”, it said, as well as information on recent trends in pathogens and “the urgent burden on healthcare systems”.
“While the WHO seeks this additional information, we recommend that people in China follow measures to reduce the risk of respiratory illness,” it added, recommending vaccination, wearing masks and other standard measures taken during the pandemic.
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
As You Were
Liam Gallagher
(Warner Bros)
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Founder: Ayman Badawi
Date started: Test product September 2016, paid launch January 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software
Size: Seven employees
Funding: $170,000 in angel investment
Funders: friends
'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'
Rating: 3/5
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Mads Mikkelson, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Jude Law
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
T20 World Cup Qualifier
Final: Netherlands beat PNG by seven wickets
Qualified teams
1. Netherlands
2. PNG
3. Ireland
4. Namibia
5. Scotland
6. Oman
T20 World Cup 2020, Australia
Group A: Sri Lanka, PNG, Ireland, Oman
Group B: Bangladesh, Netherlands, Namibia, Scotland
Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
