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☆ China's respiratory illness rise due to known pathogens - official
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A child gets an intravenous drip at a hospital in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang province. China's surge in respiratory illness is caused by known pathogens and there is no sign of new infectious diseases, a health official said on Saturday as the country faces its first full winter since lifting strict COVID-19 restrictions. The spike in illness in the country where COVID emerged in late 2019 attracted the spotlight when the World Health Organization sought information last week, citing a report on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children. Chinese authorities will open more paediatric outpatient clinics, seek to ensure more elderly people and children receive flu vaccines and encourage people to wear masks and wash their hands, Mi Feng, an official with China's National Health Commission, told a press conference. Doctors in China and experts abroad have not expressed alarm about China's outbreaks, given that many other countries saw similar increases in respiratory diseases after easing pandemic measures, which China did at the end of last year.

Persons: Mi Feng Organizations: World Health Organization, China's National Health Commission Locations: Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China

☆ China's respiratory illness rise due to known pathogens, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHENZHEN, China, Dec 2 (Reuters) - China's surge in respiratory illness is caused by known pathogens and there is no sign of new infectious diseases, a health official said on Saturday as the country faces its first full winter since lifting strict COVID-19 restrictions. The spike in illness in the country where COVID emerged in late 2019 attracted the spotlight when the World Health Organization sought information last week, citing a report on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children. Chinese authorities will open more paediatric outpatient clinics, seek to ensure more elderly people and children receive flu vaccines and encourage people to wear masks and wash their hands, Mi Feng, an official with China's National Health Commission, told a press conference. Doctors in China and experts abroad have not expressed alarm about China's outbreaks, given that many other countries saw similar increases in respiratory diseases after easing pandemic measures, which China did at the end of last year. Reporting by David Kirton; Editing by Lincoln Feast and William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mi Feng, David Kirton, Lincoln, William Mallard Organizations: World Health Organization, China's National Health Commission, Thomson Locations: SHENZHEN, China

☆ China's respiratory illness surge not as high as pre-pandemic- WHO official
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Andrew Silver | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The spike in respiratory illnesses that China is currently going through is not as high as before the COVID-19 pandemic, a World Health Organisation official said, reiterating that no new or unusual pathogens had been found in the recent cases. And the waves that they’re seeing now, the peak is not as high as what they saw in 2018-2019," Van Kerkhove told health news outlet STAT in an interview on Friday. China's National Health Commission spokesperson Mi Feng said on Sunday the surge in acute respiratory illnesses was linked to the simultaneous circulation of several kinds of pathogens, most prominently influenza. The WHO said on Friday no new or unusual pathogens had been found in the recent illnesses. Reporting by Andrew Silver; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Maria Van Kerkhove, Van Kerkhove, Mi Feng, Andrew Silver, Miyoung Kim Organizations: Health, World Health Organization, China, Program, WHO, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Wuhan

☆ China says no unusual pathogens found after WHO queries respiratory outbreaks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The WHO had asked China for more information on Wednesday after groups including the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) reported clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in north China. No unusual pathogens have been detected in the capital of Beijing and the northeastern province of Liaoning. The U.N. health agency had also asked China for further information about trends in the circulation of known pathogens and the burden on healthcare systems. WHO China said it was "routine" to request information on increases in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children from member states, such as China. The WHO said that while it was seeking additional information, it recommended that people in China follow measures to reduce the risk of respiratory illness.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, pneumoniae, Ben Cowling, Deena Beasley, Andrew Silver, Jennifer Rigby, Emma Farge, Urvi, Robert Birsel, Miyoung Kim, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, World Health Organization, WHO, International, National Health Commission, FTV News, Hong Kong University, Health Commission, Xinhua, Influenza, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, Liaoning, Wuhan, WHO China, Taiwan, Los Angeles, Shanghai, London, Geneva, Bengaluru

☆ Nearly 2 million excess deaths followed China's sudden end of COVID curbs - study
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Bernard Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The study by the federally funded Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle was taken from a sample of mortality data published by some universities in China and internet searches. It found an estimated 1.87 million excess deaths from all causes occurred among people over 30 years of age between December 2022 and January 2023, and were observed in all provinces in mainland China except Tibet. In the study, researchers performed statistical analysis using information from published obituaries and data from searches on Baidu, a popular Chinese internet search engine. "Our study of excess deaths related to the lifting of the zero-COVID policy in China sets an empirically derived benchmark estimate. The World Health Organization says there have been 121,628 COVID deaths in China, out of a total global toll of almost 7 million.

Persons: Thomas Peter, cremations, China's, COVID, Bernard Orr, Lincoln Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Baidu, Health Commission, Global, World Health Organization, National Bureau of Disease Control, Prevention, Global Times, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING, U.S, Seattle, Tibet

New rules imposed in February force infant formula makers to invest heavily to re-make, test, certify and re-register their products for China, before potentially conducting new marketing campaigns. “The new standard requires higher product quality as well as stronger manufacturing techniques which are expected to eliminate many small-to-medium-size players,” said Quinn Mai, analyst at Euromonitor International, which estimates China’s infant formula market will fall 12.5% to $21 billion by 2025 due to shrinking demand. China's National Health Commission (NHC) cited infant safety when announcing the latest rules. Celia Ning, director at the nutrition research institute of formula maker Junlebao, said the registration process could "easily" take a year. Another, Fonterra (FCG.NZ), said it was progressing through the re-registration process but that infant formula made up a relatively small part of its China business, with declining birth rates and regulation driving industry consolidation.

Persons: ”, Quinn Mai, Jane Li, Li, Celia Ning, Junlebao, Ning, SAMR, Nestle, Marius Zaharia Organizations: Euromonitor, Health Commission, NHC, State Administration, Market, “, Unicef, Companies, Abbott Laboratories, Reuters, New Zealand's Ministry, Primary Industries, Milk, Global, Nestle, Danone, HK, “ Companies, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, Auckland, “ Beijing, India, U.S, Hong Kong, Beijing, Lincoln

☆ China issues guidance for basic elderly care system by 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, May 21 (Reuters) - China has issued guidance to all provinces to build a basic elderly care system by 2025, state-run Xinhua news agency said on Sunday, in the latest step to prevent a demographic crisis. "Promoting the construction of the basic elderly care service system is an important task for implementing the national strategy of actively responding to population ageing and achieving equalisation of basic public services," Xinhua said. It said the guidelines require all provinces to implement a list of basic elderly care services, based on factors such as economic and social development level and financial situation. Provinces must improve the basic pension system service and implement a long-term care security system that connects insurance, welfare and assistance, the statement said. The state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences sees the pension system running out of money by 2035.

☆ China weighs giving single women IVF access to stem population decline
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Crucially, Chen could access in-vitro fertility (IVF) treatment legally in a private clinic. We have liberalized the policies here and I know a lot of single women are doing IVF." watch nowLiberalizing IVF nationwide could unleash more demand for fertility treatment in what is already the world's biggest market, straining limited fertility services. The NHC's Sichuan branch did not address questions from Reuters about whether it would offer IVF treatment to all women in public hospitals. Shanghai and the southern Guangdong province have also permitted unmarried women to register their children but IVF services for single women remain banned.

☆ China to raise retirement age to deal with aging population - media
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, March 14 (Reuters) - China is planning to raise its retirement age gradually and in phases to cope with the country's rapidly aging population, the state-backed Global Times said on Tuesday, citing a senior expert from China's Ministry of Human Resources. Jin Weigang, president of the Chinese Academy of Labor and Social Security Sciences, said China was eyeing a "progressive, flexible and differentiated path to raising the retirement age", meaning that it would be delayed initially by a few months, which would be subsequently increased. "People nearing retirement age will only have to delay retirement for several months," the Global Times said, citing Jin. China has yet to formally announce a change to its retirement age, which is among the lowest in the world at 60 for men, 55 for white-collar women and 50 for women who work in factories. The state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences sees the pension system running out of money by 2035.

[1/5] Elderly visitors enjoy the sunshine, at a nursing home of Lendlease's Ardor Gardens in Shanghai, China February 27, 2023. Lim says "stigma" around retirement homes in China is quickly disappearing. About 4% of people aged 65 and over in Britain live in retirement homes, according to information service Lottie. Ding Hui, China managing director at Australian real estate firm Lendlease (LLC.AX), expects demand for retirement homes to rise sharply in the next five to 10 years. Government-run nursing homes with basic facilities in Shanghai and Beijing are much cheaper, at about 2,000 yuan ($290) a month.

[1/7] Farmer Wang Zhanling sits next to his wife in their house in Quansheng village, Heilongjiang Province, China, February 8, 2023. The state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences sees the pension system running out of money by 2035. "If the pension system does not change, this is unsustainable," said Xiujian Peng, senior research fellow in the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University in Australia. The province has the lowest birth rate in China, with just over 100,000 births in 2021 and 460,000 deaths. Many experts, including Macquarie's chief China economist Larry Hu, suggest implementing a unified national pension system, backstopped by the more resourceful central government rather than cash-strapped local administrations.

☆ China has to figure out how to care for 400 million people over the age of 60 by 2040 — and it's off to a rocky start
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

By 2040, it's expected to have 400 million people above the age of 60 — more people than in the entire US. "It's obvious that relying on contributions from medical insurance schemes to fund age care services is not likely to be viable in the longer term," she said. Alzheimer's is quickly rising as a concern in China, Luk said. "Is China aging rapidly? Beijing has been pressuring the private sector into building daycare centers, wards, and other age care infrastructure to shore up gaps in local government finances, Gu said.

☆ China's Lunar New Year travel to boost economy after COVID crunch
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While many analysts say a return to economic normality will be gradual as the impact of COVID weakens, some see the Lunar New Year as a welcome early consumption boost. But with so many people on the move, health experts fear a deepening of the COVID outbreak, leaving the elderly in rural villages particularly vulnerable. Reuters reported on Tuesday that doctors in both public and private hospitals were being actively discouraged from attributing deaths to COVID. State media reported that some 390,000 passengers were expected to travel from Shanghai train stations on Tuesday alone for what is known as the Spring Festival holiday - seen as the world's largest annual mass migration before COVID. As travellers moved through stations in Shanghai, China's largest city, some expressed optimism despite the risks.

☆ Factbox: How China is seeking to boost its falling birth rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] An elderly person stands outside a house amid snowfall in Beijing, China January 12, 2023. ONE-CHILD POLICY- China implemented a one-child policy from 1980 to 2015 in response to government concerns about the social and economic consequences of continued rapid population growth. - The policy, which limited families to one child, was strictly enforced with violators fined and mothers often forced to have abortions. - Shenzhen, a city in southern China, gives couples having a third child or more an annual allowance of over 6,000 yuan ($890) until the child turn three. ($1 = 6.7044 Chinese yuan)Reporting by Farah Master and the Beijing newsroom; editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's Lunar New Year travel offers spark of economic rebound from COVID crunch
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

While many analysts say a return to economic normality will be gradual as the impact of COVID weakens, some see the Lunar New Year as a welcome early consumption boost. But even as workers move out, health experts fear a broadening and deepening of its COVID outbreak, leaving the elderly in rural villages particularly vulnerable. The WHO earlier welcomed Saturday's announcement after last week warning that China was heavily under-reporting deaths from the virus. "This is especially important during periods of surges when the health system is severely constrained," the statement said on Monday. As travellers moved through stations in Shanghai, China's largest city, some expressed optimism despite the risks.

After three years of strict and suffocating anti-virus controls, China in early December abruptly abandoned its "zero COVID" policy, letting the virus run freely through its 1.4 billion population. Several experts forecast more than one million people in China will die from the disease this year. TRAVEL RUSHBeijing's main rail station has been packed with passengers leaving the capital in recent days, according to Reuters witnesses. Meanwhile, daily arrivals in the gambling hub of Macau exceeded 55,000 on Saturday, the highest daily arrivals since the pandemic began. China's transport ministry has said it expects more than 2 billion trips in the weeks around the holidays.

☆ WHO recommends that China monitor excess COVID-19 mortality
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON/GENEVA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday it recommended that China monitor excess mortality from COVID-19 to gain a fuller picture of the impact of the surge in cases there. China said on Saturday that nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 had died in hospital since it abandoned its zero-COVID policy last month, a big jump from the figures it reported prior to facing international criticism over its COVID-19 data. "WHO recommends the monitoring of excess mortality, which provides us with a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of COVID-19," the U.N. agency told Reuters in a statement when asked about China. "This is especially important during periods of surges when the health system is severely constrained." "But it would be even more important to get full GSD (genetic sequence data) of circulating virus in China.

☆ China's health officials exchange views with WHO on COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Senior Chinese health officials exchanged views with the World Health Organization on Friday on the new coronavirus via a video conference, China's National Health Commission said in a statement. Both sides exchanged views on the current epidemic situation, medical treatment, vaccination and other technical matters, the Chinese health authority said, adding that more technical exchanges would be held. Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ WHO urges China to share specific data regularly on COVID situation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 30 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization on Friday once again urged China's health officials to regularly share specific and real-time information on the COVID-19 situation in the country, as it continues to assess the latest surge in infections. The agency has asked Chinese officials to share more genetic sequencing data, as well as data on hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations. COVID infections have risen across China this month after Beijing dismantled its zero-COVID policies including regular PCR testing on its population. The United States, South Korea, India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan have all imposed COVID tests for travellers from China in response. Senior Chinese health officials exchanged views with the WHO on the new coronavirus via a video conference, China's National Health Commission said in a statement earlier on Friday.

☆ 'Avatar' sequel eclipses $1 billion at global box office, even with Covid weighing on China business
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

James Cameron's "Avatar: The Way of Water" has passed the billion-dollar mark at the global box office, but sluggish sales in China could weigh on the film's final haul. Worldwide ticket sales for the Disney film now stand at $1.03 billion, the combination of $317 million in domestic sales and $712 million from international markets. That places the film among the top five fastest movies to reach $1 billion in box-office sales. Still, industry experts are concerned by muted ticket sales from China. Through Tuesday, China has accounted for just $108 million in ticket sales for the film.

☆ China is rolling back much of its Covid controls. That could spell a buying opportunity for these stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A reopening in the world's second-largest economy could spell a buying opportunity for investors as China unwinds much of its Covid restrictions. Investors have taken the recent developments as a signal to start snapping up China equities. What's more, they say that Chinese equities are cheap on a historical basis, and cheap compared to their emerging market peers. This month, Morgan Stanley said that Chinese equities have a "steep climb" after their underperformance during the pandemic. Yum China is the fourth-largest position in the Thornburg Developing World Fund (THDAX) , which has a roughly 29% allocation to China.

☆ Chinese provinces hit hard by Covid are seeing a strain on critical care, health officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — Some Chinese provinces' intensive care beds and resources are nearing capacity as Covid-19 infections soar, national health authorities said Tuesday. In such regions, Jiao said, "it is necessary to expand the availability of ICU beds and resources, or speed up turnover." Overall, Jiao claimed national availability of ICU beds was sufficient, at 12.8 per 100,000 people as of Dec. 25. It is unclear at what scale Covid outbreaks have hit the country, with few official figures on recent infections and deaths. China's National Health Commission on Sunday stopped sharing daily figures after a halt in mandatory virus testing.

☆ Here are the countries Chinese tourists want to visit the most
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Travelers check in at Shanghai's Hongqiao International Airport in on Dec. 12, 2022, after China relaxed domestic travel restrictions. Within half an hour of China's announced policy change, searches for travel abroad surged to a three-year high, the travel booking company said. Macao and Hong Kong also made the list, which did not include any countries on the European continent. Authorities also said they would allow Chinese citizens to resume travel, without providing details on timing or process. During the pandemic, Beijing prevented Chinese citizens from getting passports or leaving the country unless they had a clear reason, typically for business.

Airlines are drawing up plans to expand their services but ordinary Chinese and travel agencies suggest that a return to anything like normal will take some time. But an immediate surge in international travel is not widely expected. According to VariFlight data, international flights to and from China are at 8% of pre-pandemic levels. Weighing on many people's travel plans is the wave of COVID-19 infections now sweeping China, Liu said. One of the fastest bouncebacks is expected to be in international business travel.

☆ China to scrap quarantine for international travelers in an essential end of zero-Covid
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — China announced late Monday that travelers will no longer need to quarantine upon arrival on the mainland starting Jan. 8. The changes end the bulk of the most restrictive measures that China had imposed for nearly three years under its zero-Covid policy. Since March 2020, travelers to the mainland have had to quarantine, typically at a designated hotel and for 14 days. That isolation period subsequently began to increase to 21 days or more for some travelers, before China began cutting quarantine times this summer. Current policy requires five days of quarantine at a centralized facility, followed by three days at home.

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