A significant spike in Covid-19 infections in China is generating blood shortages in hospitals across various regions and cities, highlighting the nation’s healthcare system’s vulnerabilities.
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According to Bloomberg, quoting China National Radio, the Blood Center of Shandong Province, China’s second most populous, has issued red alert warnings for insufficient inventory for two blood types in recent days.
As per the officials, fewer individuals stepped out on the streets as a result of the Covid crisis and the cold weather, and early holidays at colleges further lowered the pool of student donors, according to the report.
According to the report, the highest degree of caution is a red alert, which means that the blood in stock can only fulfil the dosage of acute and severely ill patients for three days.
Following the incident, the Health Commission of Suzhou, in the eastern province of Anhui, issued an official statement on its website on December 20 calling for a voluntary blood situation.
The Covid epidemic posed an “enormous challenge” to blood collection, resulting in a shortage of medical supplies, according to the statement.
China is currently seeing a wave of infections following the relaxation of most pandemic measures last month. Cases of covid have increased in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where patients are flooding to hospitals and unprepared citizens are scurrying for treatments.
On December 23, the country recorded 4,128 new symptomatic Covid-19 infections, up from 3,761 the day before. China reported 4,103 new local cases, up from 3,696 the previous day, excluding imported infections.
China altered its restrictions earlier this month, allowing people who had Covid but had no significant symptoms to donate blood seven days after testing negative by nuclear acid test or antigen test. The prior guideline prohibited even people in close proximity to Covid patients from donating blood.
(With Inputs From Agencies)