This month, a prominent Shanghai doctor, Miao Xiaohui, estimated that the number of additional deaths from diabetes could reach nearly 1,000 by the end of his city’s lockdown. His estimate was based on the Wuhan excess-mortality study, which, in addition to tracking Covid deaths, also found that deaths from non-communicable diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, were 21 percent higher than expected during the shutdown. city.
“Why can’t we consider a middle ground” between zero Covid and living with the virus, Dr. Miao in a blog post.
The post was censored.
The burden of enforcement
As the epidemic escalated in early March, employees at Shanghai Putuo People’s Hospital were sent to conduct several rounds of community testing. They worked long days, with few breaks, according to two people with knowledge of the circumstances, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.
A nurse in the general surgery department, nicknamed Ma, began to feel unwell and developed purple spots on her skin, according to the two people, who asked not to identify her by her full name. Ms. Ma, 40, was eventually diagnosed with acute aplastic anemia, which causes the body to stop producing enough blood cells. While it’s not clear exactly what caused the condition, doctors linked her illness to exhaustion, the people said. She died on April 6.
When asked about Ms. Ma’s death, an employee who answered the phone at the hospital said she had no information.
Neighborhood officials, responsible for monitoring closed streets, also faltered under their workload. Recordings said to be telephone conversations between residents and officials, in which the officials express their frustration or helplessness, have been widely circulated online.
