(ThePatriotWire)- Dozens of professors from China’s top universities have died over the last month as a recent wave of coronavirus sweeps the country, particularly the capital.
In just three days last week, four prominent Chinese figures died.
Tsinghua University professor Wu Guanying, 67, passed away on December 20. Communist Party member Chen Jingliang, 76, died on December 19. Former Xinhua News Agency editor Fan Xuehui passed away at the age of 89. Performer Chu Lanlan, 39, died on December 18.
Between November 10 and December 10, a total of 19 retired professors and teachers from Tsinghua University died amid the current outbreak, according to Sina.
Last week, the Epoch Times provided a detailed look at the prominent Chinese who have succumbed during this latest outbreak.
The virus is spreading largely unchecked throughout the country as doubts grow among health experts and residents about Beijing’s official statistics which show no new deaths reported for the six days leading up to Sunday.
Doctors are reporting hospitals are overwhelmed with five to six times the number of patients than usual. Most of the patients are elderly.
The country’s healthcare system has been under tremendous strain over the last month, with staff being asked to work while sick and retired healthcare workers in rural communities being brought out of retirement to help.
The government of Zhejiang, a large industrial province near Shanghai, said over the weekend that it is recording around one million new COVID infections a day and expected that to double in the days ahead.
In the southeastern Jiangxi province, health authorities have said the infections will likely hit their peak in early January, with additional peaks expected as people travel for Lunar New Year Celebrations the following month.
Cities throughout China have been scrambling to add intensive care units as well as fever clinics, the facilities designed to prevent widespread contagions in hospitals.
In Beijing, municipal government officials said the number of fever clinics in the capital has increased from 94 to nearly 1,300 during the current wave. Shanghai has opened 2,600 fever clinics and has transferred doctors from less-strained medical facilities to help with clinic patients.
