Three years after the appearance of the very first cases of coronavirus, the country is facing an explosion of patients, since the sudden lifting in early December of most of the health restrictions in force.

In Chongqing, a sprawling city-province in southwest China, the entrance hall of No.5 Hospital has been transformed into a makeshift ward for patients with Covid, AFP noted.

Red and white flagging tape delimits the space where a dozen patients, mostly elderly, are on a drip, lying on beds.

Patients with Covid-19 wait on beds in the reception hall of Chongqing No.5 Hospital on December 23, 2022 in southwest China © Noel CELIS / AFP

In an adjoining room, about forty people are waiting on sofas or stretchers, waiting to receive treatment.

Some cough.

A nurse ensures that all are positive for Covid-19.

People line up for admissions at Chongqing No.5 Hospital on December 23, 2022 in southwest China © Noel CELIS / AFP

Nearby, three patients are under respiratory assistance and cardiac monitoring, in an intensive care unit.

At the same time, about fifty people are queuing in the emergency room.

One of them told AFP to wait for more than an hour.

In another more modest establishment in Chongqing, which has more than 30 million inhabitants, around thirty elderly people are crammed into the emergency room.

In the first establishment visited by AFP, a cleaner and a nurse have mentioned several deaths every day since the lifting of health restrictions more than two weeks ago.

Patients with Covid-19 wait in the emergency room of a hospital in Chongqing, December 23, 2022 in southwestern China © Noel CELIS / AFP

It is not clear if the Covid is the main cause.

"Look, this old man just died," sighs the cleaner, pointing to the empty spot where a bed had been a few moments earlier.

Controversial record

This unprecedented outbreak of Covid in China raises fears of high mortality among the elderly, who are particularly vulnerable but also less vaccinated.

In a crematorium in southern Chongqing, 40 bodies were unloaded Thursday in the space of two hours, found an AFP team.

Patients with Covid-19 in a ward of Chongqing No.5 Hospital, December 23, 2022 in southwest China © Noel CELIS / AFP

Again, the link with the Covid is difficult to establish, but several relatives of the deceased suspect the virus.

A woman claims that a relative, who had a cold, died before an ambulance even arrived.

Another in her twenties makes the Covid responsible for the death of her father.

The man was not tested, however, as screening is no longer mandatory.

"He left too quickly," she said sobbing.

"He already had lung problems (...) he was only 69 years old".

At the other end of the country, similar scenes were observed on Friday.

1,500 km from Chongqing, patients on respiratory assistance were crowded into the entrance hall and corridors of a hospital in Shanghai.

Relatives were at their bedside in a somewhat chaotic atmosphere, AFP noted.

Since the lifting of restrictions, only six deaths have been officially attributed to Covid by the Chinese authorities.

A patient arrives on a stretcher at the emergency room of Huashan Hospital on December 23, 2022 in Shanghai © Hector RETAMAL / AFP

Earlier this week, they specified their new methodology for identifying victims.

Now only people who died directly from respiratory failure linked to the virus are counted in the statistics.

A controversial adjustment that does not reflect the situation for many experts.

The Chinese power insists on the "scientific" character of its methodology.

© 2022 AFP