By Li Muzi
China’s flu outbreak is intensifying, with multiple provinces moving into high-transmission periods.
Beijing has now officially entered its peak flu season, and doctors say the virus is spreading beyond school-aged children to university students and working adults.
Officials identify H3N2 as the dominant strain, but many Chinese netizens insist the outbreak “is actually COVID-19.”
State media report that patient numbers at Beijing Children’s Hospital have risen steadily since November.
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To manage the load, the hospital has opened additional day, evening, and overnight shifts, and its online consultation service now sees about 350 patients each night.
Doctors warn that although the current wave began with middle and primary school students, infections are now spreading across universities and workplaces and may soon affect older age groups.
National flu positivity nears 45 percent
Data from China’s CDC on Nov. 27 show flu positivity rates approaching 45 percent among outpatient cases nationwide.
Several provinces have moved from “mid-level” to “high-level” transmission.
Parents across China report chaotic scenes:
- “Beijing Children’s Hospital was overflowing yesterday.”
- “Our city is asking the province to send more doctors.”
- “Eighty percent of our schools have suspended classes.”
As the outbreak worsens, frustration has turned to suspicion.
Some netizens write:
- “This is a giant scheme. They’ll always find ways to force consumption.”
- “Just like computer viruses—if antivirus software were free, would viruses exist?”
A widely shared video on X claims that “COVID is back in China,” showing packed emergency rooms, widespread school closures, and a rise in sudden deaths among young adults.
A doctor in Shandong is heard saying: “The 2025 COVID wave has arrived.”
Others describe symptoms identical to China’s mass infection period in late 2022.
Reports of ‘white lung’ in children
Parents in multiple regions say some children are developing severe pneumonia, including “white lung,” within a single day of fever onset.
There are confirmed pediatric deaths, raising further fears that this is not a typical flu season.
Netizens continue to question the official narrative:
- “This is COVID, they’re just not allowed to say it.”
- “If they admit it, they admit the vaccines didn’t work.”
- “Hospitals are full of young people with post-vaccine complications.”
- “The CCP is a devil.”
A widening credibility gap
Across Beijing and other cities, crowded hospitals and fast-spreading infections are deepening public distrust.
For many families, the debate is no longer about whether the outbreak is flu or COVID. It is about why authorities refuse to give a clear explanation as pressure on the healthcare system mounts once again.
