Worrying video footage shows crowds gathering inside a Chinese hospital in scenes eerily reminiscient of the Covid-19 pandemic.
People were seen wearing masks as local media reported health facilities being ‘overwhelmed with sick children’ in Beijing and Shanghai.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) last week confirmed an increase in influenza-like illnesses in China.
Officials insist a new virus is not to blame, and say flu and other winter bugs are on the rise.
It is the country’s first winter without a lockdown due to coronavirus.
But residents are still being encouraged to work from home if they are unwell, socially distance and wear face coverings, echoing phrases from previous years.
A National Health Commission spokesperson said a sharp increase of respiratory infections has been caused by an overlap of common viruses like flu and RSV, and bacterial pneumonia.
A novel virus like the one which sparked the pandemic was ruled out.
Ministry spokesperson Mi Feng added: ‘Efforts should be made to increase the opening of relevant clinics and treatment areas, extend service hours and increase the supply of medicines.’
The reports have caused alarm after China and the WHO were accused of a lack of transparency in their initial reports on the pandemic.
Another ‘mystery pneumonia’ circulating in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019 turned out to be Covid-19.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it is ‘keeping an open mind’ as to the cause of the latest outbreak, but the WHO insisted the increase appears to be driven by a decrease in natural immunity following several winter seasons of coronavirus lockdowns.
Maria Van Kerkhove, acting director of the WHO’s department of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said: ‘The waves that they’re seeing now, the peak is not as high as what they saw in 2018 to 2019.
‘This is not an indication of a novel pathogen. This is expected. This is what most countries dealt with a year or two ago.’
Shanghai Songjiang District Central Hospital has received more than 700 children every day which is three times higher than the same period in previous years, reports Xinmin Weekly.
And Wang Quanyi from the Beijing Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, told state media the city has ‘entered a high incidence season of respiratory infectious diseases’.
Li Meiling, 42, whose eight-year-old daughter has pneumonia told reporters: ‘It’s true that a lot of children her age are ill with this at the moment.
‘It’s winter, so it’s normal that there are more cases of respiratory illnesses. It’s due to the season.’
Beijing only lifted its strict nationwide ‘zero-Covid’ policies in December last year after mass protests across the country.
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