Interview With Major Chinese Doctor On Coronavirus Front Lines: ‘The Real Death Toll Is At Least Five Percent’

Dr. Peng Zhiyong is the Director of Acute Medicine at Wuhan University South Central Hospital. He has been on the front lines of the coronavirus epidemic and has been working around the clock to help control the virus and save patients. In spite of the volumnous propaganda coming from the Chinese government about the virus that has left people in a state of confusion and fear, Dr. Peng has made numerous critical findings about the virus and how to help people, especially those who are sick, which he says tends to attack those hardest who have weakened immune systems. One of the most shocking declarations he has made has been to challenge the official Chinese government statistics about death rates, which instead of the approximately two percent death toll numbers coming from the government that have a mysterious consistency to them are not true based on his experience, which is about five percent.

In the third week, keeping some of these acute patients alive might require extraordinary intervention. For this group, the death rate seems to be 4 per cent to 5 per cent, Dr Peng said. After working his 12-hour daytime shifts, the doctor spends his evenings researching the disease and has summarised his observations in a thesis.

The doctors and nurses at his hospital are overwhelmed with patients. Once they don protective hazmat suits, they go without food, drink and bathroom breaks for their entire shifts. That’s because there aren’t enough of the suits for a mid-shift change, he said.

Over the past month on the front lines of the coronavirus battle, Dr Peng has been brought to tears many times when forced to turn away patients for lack of staffing and beds. He said what really got to him, though, was the death of an acutely ill pregnant woman when treatment stopped for lack of money – the day before the government decided to pick up the costs of all coronavirus treatments.

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The percentage of deaths among life-threatening cases is about 15 per cent. The mean period to go from slight conditions to life-threatening conditions is about 10 days. Twenty-eight patients recovered and were discharged. Right now, the recovery rate is 20.3 per cent, while other patients remain hospitalised.

It is notable that 12 cases were linked to South China Seafood Market; 57 were infected while being hospitalised, including 17 patients already hospitalised in other departments; and 40 medical staff, among 138 cases (as of Jan 28). That demonstrates that a hospital is a high-risk zone and appropriate protection must be taken. (source)

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