Five years after Covid-19, publications report a new epidemic in China.
On several social networks, some even claim that the state of emergency was even established to slow down the circulation of viruses.
Neither Beijing nor the World Health Organization have taken action on this matter.
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On December 31, 2019, a “viral pneumonia” in Wuhan was brought to the attention of the World Health Organization office in China. Pneumonia since renamed Covid-19, having paralyzed the planet for months. Five years later, are Chinese hospitals preparing to face a new epidemic? That’s what a rumor that has gone viral online says.
Images of queues at the hospital
According to publications on X, Instagram or TikTok, some of which have been seen (new window) more than six million times, the Chinese health situation is worrying because of a “epidemic of several viruses, including HMPV, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and COVID-19” and would have even led to the establishment of a state of emergency in the country.
In posts viral on these platforms, it is argued that Beijing has taken exceptional measures to curb the circulation of several respiratory viruses. On Instagram (new window)we evoke the presence of a single “new virus in China” and on (new window)of the “hospitals and crematoriums overwhelmed” by the number of sick and dead. The images shared online are actually three different scenes, all showing queues of masked people, appearing to be waiting at the hospital.
These contents, on X, all date back to the Christmas period, or even a few days before: the oldest post that we found (new window) date of December 15, 2024. However, they are not based on any tangible element. Some of the images used are far from recent, like this one (new window) taken in December 2022 and then concerning the Covid-19 epidemic (new window).
The sources cited should also be considered with caution: several links refer to the site The Epoch Timesin a Chinese version (new window) titled: “China’s New Year outbreak rages and hospitals see huge crowds seeking treatment”. However, this site is known (new window) to spread conspiracy theories and false information around the pandemic.
Images impossible to date
What can we say now about the images circulating? The last video was posted on December 24 (new window)by a TikTok account located in Taipei (Taiwan). “It’s not the Spring Festival trip (Chinese New Year, editor’s note), It’s the children’s hospital now”, mentions the legend. When requested, this Internet user has not yet responded to our questions.
For the rest of the images, they cannot be located or dated precisely. To add to the confusion, they are highly similar to shared content (new window) in November 2023, when a respiratory infection was circulating in northern China. At the time, hospitals were overwhelmed by the number of cases (new window) mainly affecting children. This is what would be happening right now.
But according to our research, there is no official announcement of the establishment of a state of emergency. There is no trace of it on the site either. (new window) of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, nor that of the World Health Organization (WHO). Unlike November 2023, when the health situation was the subject of an inventory (new window) by Beijing and by the WHO.
At the time, the organization indicated that it was monitoring “data from China’s surveillance system since mid-October 2023, which shows an increase in respiratory illnesses among children in northern China.” Our correspondent in China, Louise Malnoy, confirms the absence of a state of emergency and discusses “a recurring situation every winter, during seasonal peaks of flu and respiratory viruses”.
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For the moment, the only recent communication from the WHO with regard to China concerns Covid-19 (new window)on the occasion of the fifth anniversary. “We continue to call on China to share data and access to that data so we can understand the origins of COVID-19”shared his local office on December 30, according to which “without transparency, sharing and cooperation between countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics.”
Do you want to ask us questions or submit information that you do not believe is reliable? Do not hesitate to write to us at [email protected]. Find us also on X: our team is present there behind the account @verif_TF1LCI.
