International

China battles spike in new respiratory illness after COVID-19 pandemic

Published

3 months ago

January 5, 2025

China battles spike in new respiratory illness after COVID-19 pandemic

People are once again wearing face masks as a result of a bizarre viral outbreak that is taking over several hospitals in China.

Videos of congested hospital units in China, parents waiting in lengthy lines with ailing children, and patients wearing face masks in crowded facilities have been making the rounds on social media.

Unverified reports of overcrowded crematoriums and burial homes have raised concerns and parallels to the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

Local news outlets have attributed the outbreak to human metapneumovirus (HMPV), a virus that typically causes mild cold-like symptoms. However, Chinese health officials have not confirmed this as the cause, Dailymail reported.

The outbreak bears similarities to winter 2022/23 when mycoplasma pneumonia cases—referred to as “white lung”—spiked among children with weakened immunity due to prolonged lockdowns and school closures during the pandemic.

According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the latest outbreak is largely driven by seasonal flu. Official data indicates that 30% of tests are positive for influenza, and one in seven hospitalized with severe respiratory illnesses has tested positive for the virus.

READ ALSO:

In its latest report, covering the week leading up to December 29, the Chinese CDC noted a rise in flu-like illnesses across the country. In northern provinces, 7.2% of outpatient visits were attributed to flu-like symptoms, a 12% increase from the previous week and higher than any corresponding week since 2021. In the south, 5.7% of outpatient visits were linked to flu-like illnesses, marking a 21% weekly increase, though still below 2022 and 2023 levels.

Videos showing overcrowded hospitals in Hunan province and other regions surfaced around New Year’s Eve. According to Aboluowang News, a US-based outlet covering China, a farmer in Hunan, identified as Mr. Peng, reported a surge in illnesses in his area.

‘A lot of people have caught colds, and most of them have [illness],’ he said in quotes translated to English.

‘About seven or eight people died this week in this area. Some were in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 40s.’

The news outlet also quoted a funeral director, Ms. Wang, who described 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.’

A Chinese video blogger, known as “Please Fei Ge,” shared his personal experience of falling ill after returning to their home province, which was not named, He said he and his wife 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.’

Last year, a surge in mysterious pneumonia cases among children led to similar viral videos showing packed hospitals in Beijing, China. At the time, Chinese authorities attributed the outbreak to a resurgence of diseases following the lifting of pandemic restrictions.

China battles spike in new respiratory illness after COVID-19 pandemic

Related Topics:China COVID-19 respiratory illness

Up Next

Hamas lists 34 hostages it may free under ceasefire

Don't Miss

UN accuses Israel of ceasefire breach

International

US announces new visa requirements for Nigerian applicants

Published

40 minutes ago

April 11, 2025

Trends Admin

US announces new visa requirements for Nigerian applicants

The U.S Mission in Nigeria has listed new requirements for visa applications at its Abuja and Lagos embassies starting from April 22, 2025.

The Mission announced the new requirements in a short statement published on its X handle on titled Important update for Visa Applicants.

Read the new requirements for applicants for U.S visa from Nigeria below

Visa Interviews: Starting April 22, 2025, all visa applicants in Abuja and Lagos must bring a DS-160 visa application form with a confirmation/barcode number (starting with AA and followed by 00 – two zeroes) that matches the one used to make their appointment online. You also must make your appointment in the location you selected when filling out your DS-160.

Matching Barcode Numbers: If the confirmation/barcode number on your DS-160 form does not match the one you used to book your appointment, you will not be allowed to enter the Consular Section or attend your visa interview.

READ ALSO:

Double-Check Your Information: At least two weeks before your interview, please double-check that the barcode number on your DS-160 form matches the one you used to schedule your appointment. You cannot reuse a DS-160 from a previous application.

Correcting DS-160 Barcode: If your DS-160 barcode is incorrect, you must log into your AVITS account at at least 10 days before your appointment to create a support ticket requesting correction of your barcode number.

Rescheduling Appointments: If you are turned away from your appointment because your barcode numbers do not match, once you correct the problem, you will need to book a new appointment to proceed with your visa application. You may book a new appointment by logging into your AVITS account at If your visa fee has expired, you may have to pay a new fee before booking.

US announces new visa requirements for Nigerian applicants

International

EU approves 1st retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports

Published

2 days ago

April 9, 2025

Trends Admin

U.S President Donald Trump

EU approves 1st retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports

EU member states on Wednesday approved initial retaliatory tariffs of 10 per cent to 25 per cent on U.S. imports, which the European Commission says will be implemented next week.

This includes special levies on items such as jeans and motorcycles from the United States, while U.S.-made whiskey and other alcoholic beverages were removed from the commission’s proposed list.

Further counter-tariffs are due to be imposed in mid-May and at the end of the year, affecting products including beef, poultry and citrus fruits such as oranges or grapefruit.

Additional tariffs on nuts and soybeans are planned for early December.

READ ALSO:

The tariffs approved on Wednesday are in response to the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium imports imposed about a month ago.

According to EU calculations, the U.S. measures affect exports worth 26 billion euros (28.8 billion U.S. dollars).

The measures being imposed by Brussels target goods worth approximately 21 billion euros, according to EU sources.

The EU has stressed its preference for negotiations rather than escalating the trade dispute.

Work is still under way on a further package of measures in response to the tariffs on cars and almost all other EU exports to the U.S. more recently announced by President Donald Trump.

Trump’s tariff policy aims to correct alleged trade imbalances and shift production to the United States, while partially offsetting tax cuts promised during his election campaign.

EU approves 1st retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports
dpa/NAN

International

Israeli strikes kill 20 in fresh attack on Gaza

Published

2 days ago

April 9, 2025

Trends Admin

Israeli strikes kill 20 in fresh attack on Gaza

Gaza’s civil defence agency said an Israeli strike on a residential building in the Shujaiya area of Gaza City killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, as the military said they were looking into the attack.

The agency’s spokesman, Mahmud Bassal told AFP the strike resulted in “20 martyrs and more than 40 injured” and the search for bodies in the rubble was ongoing.

Israel resumed intense strikes on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. Efforts to restore the truce have so far failed.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said on Wednesday that at least 1,482 Palestinians have been killed in the renewed Israeli operations, taking the overall death toll since the start of the war to 50,846.

READ ALSO:

Hamas’s October 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Hossam Badran, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, told AFP on Tuesday that it was “necessary to reach a ceasefire” in Gaza.

He added that “communication with the mediators is still ongoing” but that “so far, there are no new proposals”.

Badran said Hamas “is open to all ideas that would lead to a ceasefire and stop the genocide enacted against our Palestinian people”.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that new negotiations were in the works aimed at getting more hostages released from captivity in Gaza.

Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s attack on Israel, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.