At present, due to the extremely strong contagiousness of Omicron , infection cases have rapidly covered all parts of the country and are in the stage of large-scale rapid spread. The number of infected people in many places exceeds 200,000 every day.
Infection rates announced in many places
According to the National Health Commission, as of December 20, 2022, the cumulative number of infections nationwide was approximately 248 million, with an infection rate of 17.56%. Among them, Beijing and Sichuan are the two provinces with the largest number of infections, with the infection rate exceeding 50%.
According to testing data from the Qingdao Municipal Health Commission on December 23 last year, the number of new infections in Qingdao was 490,000 to 530,000 per day. It is expected that the number of infected people will increase at a 10% growth rate in the next two days.
On the same day, the Dongguan Municipal Health Commission released a digital model prediction stating that the number of infections in Dongguan City is growing at a daily rate of 250,000 to 300,000 people, and the growth rate continues to rise.
According to the Zhejiang Provincial Government press conference on December 25, 2022, the number of newly reported positive cases in the province has exceeded 1 million.
According to Quzhou City press conference data on December 28, 2022, the city's overall infection rate currently accounts for about 30% to 35% of the total population; Zhoushan City 29 The city's infection rate reached 30% to 40%, and the total number of infected people was close to 400,000.
The cancellation of large-scale nucleic acid testing has resulted in a lack of accurate infection data. In order to better understand the epidemic situation and detect the development trend of the epidemic, Sichuan, Hainan, Henan, Anhui and other provinces have launched the second round of questionnaire surveys on residents' new coronavirus infection status.
According to the survey results released by Sichuan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention , as of 12:00 on December 25, 2022, a total of 158,506 people in the province participated in the survey, and the infection rate was 63.52%, an increase of 16.59 percentage points from the first round of survey results a week ago (46.93%). It is worth noting that 28% of the surveyed people did not test nucleic acid or antigen , but developed symptoms of new coronavirus infection such as fever and cough. Therefore, the actual new coronavirus infection rate of the surveyed people should be higher than 63.52%.
According to an article issued by Hainan Province on the evening of December 30, 2022, as of 12:00 on December 27, a total of 33,682 people in the province had participated in the second round of surveys. A total of 35.5% of the survey respondents were infected with the new coronavirus between December 19 and December 25, which was a 5.3-fold increase from the infection rate (5.6%) in the previous round (December 12-18). Based on the results of the two rounds of surveys, the cumulative infection rate in the province reached 41%, and the number of infected people was in a period of high fluctuations. The infection rate in urban areas (40.0%) was significantly higher than that in rural areas (24.4%).
Nationwide, the People's Social Network released a survey on COVID-19 infection rates in various provinces and cities on December 26. A total of 15,107 questionnaires were received that day, and a total of 47,897 people participated in the vote.
data shows that among investigators, Sichuan Province accounted for the highest proportion of infected people (including symptomatic, asymptomatic and recovered infections), reaching 82%. Beijing, Henan, Hubei, Hebei, Chongqing, Jiangxi, and Hunan account for 80% of the number of infections.
The number of infections in Yunnan, Shanghai, Fujian and Hainan provinces is less than 65%, with Hainan Province ranking the lowest in the country with an infection rate of 45%.
However, among all infected people, the number of recovered infections accounts for a considerable proportion. The number of recovered infections in each province is more than 20%, with more than 50% of recovered infections in Beijing and Hebei.
Since the data statistics are self-completed by the investigators, there are many factors such as subjective ignorance and other factors. The survey results may have certain deviations and are for reference only.
Will the trend of the epidemic be "one peak and three waves"?
With the recent increase in the number of infections, how will the domestic epidemic develop in the future?
Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention , once said that the epidemic this winter will have "one peak and three waves", lasting about three months. The first wave of the epidemic will be from mid-December to mid-January; affected by the movement of people during the Spring Festival, the second wave of the epidemic will be from late January to mid-February; and the third wave of the epidemic will be affected by the return to work during the Spring Festival, from late February to mid-March.
Judging from the development of the epidemic in various countries/regions around the world last year, it seems that three waves of epidemics are inevitable, and the time span and number of infections in each round are related to the country's epidemic prevention policy.
takes Japan and South Korea as examples.
Japan is a representative of gradual liberalization. The strictness index of epidemic prevention has declined in an orderly manner. Therefore, relatively speaking, the number of infections has not surged. As of December 29, the cumulative number of infections in Japan in 2022 was approximately 27.25 million, accounting for 21.37% of the total population.
The Japanese epidemic has shown three waves of growth. The first round of the epidemic lasted for a long time (from early January to mid-June), but the number of infections was relatively small. The cumulative number of infections reached 7.44 million, accounting for approximately 5.83% of its total population, and the peak number of new infections in a single day was 93,000.
The second wave of the epidemic lasted for 4 months (from mid-June to mid-October), with a total of 12.74 million infections, accounting for about 10%; the third wave of the epidemic is still heating up, with the number of new cases in a single day being around 100,000.
Compared with Japan, South Korea relaxed its epidemic prevention policies relatively quickly, and its epidemic prevention strictness index fell off a cliff in April. Therefore, the first round of the epidemic in South Korea showed explosive growth, and the subsequent two rounds of epidemics have slowed down, and it is currently in the third round of the epidemic.
The first round of the epidemic in South Korea in 2022 also lasted for 6 months (mid-January to the end of June), with a total of 17.65 million infections, accounting for 34% of the total population, and a peak of 404,000 new cases in a single day.
Since then, both rounds of the epidemic have slowed down. The peak of the second round of the epidemic was 135,000 new cases in a single day, with a total of 6.83 million infections, accounting for 13.2% of the total population. In the current third round of the epidemic, the number of infections seems to have passed its peak, with about 65,000 new cases in a single day.
As of December 29, the cumulative number of cases infected with Omicron in South Korea in 2022 was 28.31 million, accounting for 54.72% of the total population.
Although the epidemics in the two countries show different growth patterns, due to the reduced toxicity of Omicron and the increasing vaccination rate of vaccine , the case fatality rate in both countries is at a low value compared with the previous two years. Japan's current case fatality rate is 0.21%, while South Korea's is 0.09%.
Zhang Boli emphasized: There is no specific medicine, let alone a miracle drug.
At present, some northern cities have passed the peak of infection and are dealing with the upcoming peak of severe illness. Many people who have suffered from the disease are worried that they or their family members will develop severe illness, while those who have not yet been infected are full of worries about the unknown peak of severe illness, and various questions come one after another.
"Is a high fever that doesn't go away a serious condition?" "A cough that doesn't stop means the condition is getting worse?" "Will it become severe after recovery?"... For most people who are recovering at home, how to judge whether they are gradually recovering or have a serious trend? How to prevent severe disease? In response to these issues that have been of common concern to everyone recently, the reporter interviewed Zhang Boli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a master of traditional Chinese medicine, and the honorary president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
5 Indications of severe disease must be grasped. If
occurs, one must be highly vigilant
to prevent severe disease and improve the treatment effect of severe patients. Early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment are very important. Zhang Boli said: "Many patients mistakenly believe that they are getting better, and by the time they are sent to the emergency room for acute symptoms, the treatment opportunity has been delayed." Therefore, it is very important to detect indications of severe illness as early as possible.
During the home recovery period after being infected with Omicron strain , how to judge whether the condition is gradually recovering or whether there is a trend of becoming severe? Zhang Boli gave 5 criteria for severe illness:
1. Fever persists. Under normal circumstances, if the fever exceeds 38.5°C and the fever persists for more than 3 days after taking antipyretics, special attention should be paid.
2. Difficulty breathing, wheezing after activity, and rapid breathing rate. Under normal circumstances, the respiratory rate of healthy people is roughly 10 to 20 times per minute. If the breathing rate exceeds 30 times per minute, you need to pay special attention.
3. Continued severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other digestive system diseases.
4. Poor mental state, showing symptoms such as apathy, confusion, irritability, or slow reaction. We are particularly alert to the fact that some elderly people are already hypoxic but do not have difficulty breathing. This is silent hypoxia. If you have a oximeter at home, you should monitor the finger oxygen saturation. If it continues to be lower than 93%, you should send to a doctor in time. If there is no oximeter, special attention should be paid to those who experience shortness of breath, palpitation and poor mental status after observing activities.
5. The original underlying disease worsens. For example, the original blood pressure of and was well controlled, but after becoming "yang", the blood pressure could no longer be controlled, or problems such as stubborn angina pectoris and significantly increased blood sugar occurred.
Zhang Boli emphasized that the above phenomena may be signs of serious illness. If one of them appears, special attention should be paid. If multiple symptoms appear at the same time, you must seek medical attention in time.
The epidemic is progressing faster than expected.
The combination of Chinese and Western medicines is very important.
Recently, many cities have experienced peaks of infection and severe cases, and there are more severe patients. As a result, emergency rooms in major hospitals are full and ICU wards are under strain. "This wave of epidemic is progressing faster and larger than expected." Zhang Boli said that although the proportion of severe cases is not high, during the peak period of infection, the number of infected people was large, and the absolute number of severe cases was not low. At present, after corresponding measures such as increasing the number of fever clinics, expanding the capacity of ICU intensive care units, and allocating critical care personnel, the situation has initially improved.
Recently, The Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council forwarded the experience of strengthening pre-hospital medical emergency services in Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province and other places; China Traditional Chinese Medicine Journal reprinted the Shanghai expert consensus on traditional Chinese medicine treatment of elderly new coronavirus infection , which will help other regions improve the treatment capabilities of severe patients.
"The purpose of critical care is to do everything possible to save the life of every patient." Zhang Boli emphasized that based on previous experience, it is important to do the following three things well.
1. Early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment can effectively prevent severe disease from turning into critical illness, and can also buy time for treatment and rescue. Move the gateway forward, treat symptoms first, intercept the disease, predict the development of the disease in advance, and take targeted intervention measures early to block the progression of the disease.
2. Pay attention to pneumonia caused by new coronavirus infection, but we must also pay more attention to the treatment of underlying diseases. Zhang Boli said: "We have seen that many patients have reached the final stage of incurable disease, which is often caused by underlying diseases rather than viral infections. Therefore, infection with virus is only a cause, and we must pay attention to the treatment of underlying diseases."
3. It is very important to adopt comprehensive treatment, integrating traditional Chinese and Western medicine, and using both traditional Chinese and Western medicine. Western medicine is very important in respiratory support and circulatory support, and “is life-saving,” Zhang Boli said. “However, the combination of Chinese and Western medicine can solve difficult clinical problems such as persistent high fever, confusion, sticky phlegm, difficulty in defecation, non-absorption of pulmonary exudation, and obvious deficiency of righteousness. It has a very good curative effect. "Many critically ill patients are old and have poor physical and nutritional status. By strengthening the body and eliminating evil, while protecting the patient's righteousness, one person has one policy, symptomatic treatment, and a variety of methods of "clearing, clearing, and supporting" have been used to save the lives of many critically ill patients.
To deal with severe illness
It is better to stock up on "good health" than to stock up on "special medicines"
Recently, "special medicines" have become a frequently searched topic. Many netizens shared their experiences of being “hard to find a single drug” through various channels. Is it really necessary to buy so-called "special medicine" to prevent severe disease? In this regard, Zhang Boli pointed out: "Whether it is Western medicine or Chinese medicine, there are no special medicines, let alone magic medicines." Generally, patients can use ordinary cold medicines, and there is no need to pursue any particular medicine, including the "three medicines and three prescriptions". Commonly used cold medicines produced locally are also fully usable.
Zhang Boli introduced that after infection with the new coronavirus, strictly speaking, the role of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine is only auxiliary treatment, helping to alleviate some symptoms, control the development of the disease, and reduce the risk of becoming severe. Even if "small molecule specific drugs" are used, their mechanism only inhibits virus replication and cannot eradicate the virus. Moreover, the therapeutic window period of this type of drug is relatively narrow, it is only effective within 5 days after infection, and it is not suitable to be used in combination with many commonly used drugs such as statins.
Zhang Boli emphasized that after being infected with the new coronavirus, you must be rational, rational and patient when taking medication. It takes a certain amount of time for the medication to take effect. Remember there is no miracle cure, no magic cure. It is also forbidden to take medicines indiscriminately when you are sick, or to combine medicines without purpose, as they may cause drug harm. The "main force" in the fight against the new coronavirus is one's own immunity. Therefore, stocking up on medicine is not as good as stocking up on “good health”. Adjusting your physical condition, paying attention to rest, drinking more water, eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, ensuring nutritional intake, maintaining a good mood, and improving the body's immunity are the most important factors in successfully passing the infection process.
Comprehensive news, Central Broadcasting Network
Source: Xinmin Evening News
