Confidential document says Beijing refuses to fund local CDC, bureaucracy causes collapse of the medical system and loss of epidemic prevention and fighting function
The initial outbreak of Wuhan COVID-19 in China has spread globally. The leaked documents received by CNN not only reflect China's mishandling of the epidemic but also reveal that China's health care system has been riddled with problems for a prolonged period of time and that when the epidemic escalated, officials and medical personnel generally took it lightly, further contributing to the global outbreak of the virus.
After SARS in 2003, the Chinese authorities spent 167 million USD (about 1.3 billion HKD) to set up a notification system. Theoretically, the system allows regional hospitals or disease prevention centres to directly report outbreaks to the central government and share relevant information with the entire country. However, according to a report in the paper, the system itself slowed down, and other bureaucratic constraints have further impeded information flow.
Compared to major cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, Wuhan's medical system received relatively few resources. An audit report completed last October pointed out that Hubei Province's disease prevention centre was underfunded. The lack of proper testing equipment and motivated medical staff, especially in the early stages of the outbreak when they still used SARS-era equipment, was completely neglected by the Chinese Bureaucracy.
#China #SARS #COVID19 #Pandemic #Epidemic #WuhanVirus #CNN #MedicalSystem #MedicalStaff
Source: Apple Daily #Dec01
https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20201201/BPEWL3L7FZC3RFGNWLBEWQ5P7M/
The initial outbreak of Wuhan COVID-19 in China has spread globally. The leaked documents received by CNN not only reflect China's mishandling of the epidemic but also reveal that China's health care system has been riddled with problems for a prolonged period of time and that when the epidemic escalated, officials and medical personnel generally took it lightly, further contributing to the global outbreak of the virus.
After SARS in 2003, the Chinese authorities spent 167 million USD (about 1.3 billion HKD) to set up a notification system. Theoretically, the system allows regional hospitals or disease prevention centres to directly report outbreaks to the central government and share relevant information with the entire country. However, according to a report in the paper, the system itself slowed down, and other bureaucratic constraints have further impeded information flow.
Compared to major cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, Wuhan's medical system received relatively few resources. An audit report completed last October pointed out that Hubei Province's disease prevention centre was underfunded. The lack of proper testing equipment and motivated medical staff, especially in the early stages of the outbreak when they still used SARS-era equipment, was completely neglected by the Chinese Bureaucracy.
#China #SARS #COVID19 #Pandemic #Epidemic #WuhanVirus #CNN #MedicalSystem #MedicalStaff
Source: Apple Daily #Dec01
https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20201201/BPEWL3L7FZC3RFGNWLBEWQ5P7M/