China is reportedly being ravaged by a mysterious viral outbreak that is overwhelming some hospitals.
Videos on social media appear to show hospital units overrun with patients in face masks, and parents holding sick children in long lines in pediatric units.
There have also been unverified reports that crematoriums and funeral homes are being overwhelmed.
The alarming scenes and lack of official commentary have led some to draw similarities to the early days of the Covid outbreak in China.
Local news reports have blamed a little-known virus called human metapneumovirus (HMPV) — which normally causes a mild cold-like illness — for the latest outbreak, though officials have yet to confirm this.
The situation is similar to winter 2022/23 when China was hit with a wave of mycoplasma pneumonia cases, a condition dubbed ‘white lung’, which is also normally mild.
That outbreak was blamed on children having low natural immunity due to the effects of China’s harsh lockdowns and school closure measures aimed at containing Covid.
But official reports from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that regular flu is leading the latest outbreak, with 30 percent of tests coming back positive for influenza and one in seven people hospitalized with a severe respiratory illness testing positive for it.
The Chinese government and World Health Organization are yet to address the videos publicly, which are being widely circulated on social media.
