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Reuters
Reuters
Business
By Engen Tham

In COVID China, a hospital bed can hinge on who you know, red packets

FILE PHOTO: Patients lie on beds and stretchers in a hallway in the emergency department of a hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Staff

Steven, a financier in his 40s, tested positive for COVID-19 in Beijing at the height of China's outbreak in December and felt fine until the eighth day, when his condition worsened.

His sister’s driver took him to a hospital. Barely able to walk and fighting for breath, he was told there were no beds. They drove to another; he was rejected again.

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