In a statement on Thursday, China’s embassy in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan warned that the mortality rate of the disease was “much higher” than that of the novel coronavirus.
“Kazakhstani Health Department and other agencies are conducting comparative research and have not defined the nature of the pneumonia virus,” it added.
Urging Chinese citizens to follow government guidelines, the statement said people should “minimize outings, and avoid crowded public places.”
It noted that the rise in cases of the disease had been concentrated in the regions of Atyrau, Aktobe and Shymkent.
“So far, nearly 500 people have been infected and more than 30 people are critically ill,” the statement said.
“In the first half of this year, pneumonia caused 1,772 deaths. In June alone, 628 people died, including Chinese citizens.”
On Tuesday, state news agency Kazinform said the number of pneumonia cases ‘increased 2.2 times in June as compared to the same period of 2019’.
The Global Times tabloid run by China’s People’s Daily has said Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry ‘did not respond to questions about the Chinese embassy’s warning’.
China went significantly further than Kazakhstan in its claims about the rampant pneumonia and so far there is no independent evidence on whether the cases are related to coronavirus or a separate strain.
Kazakhstan said it has not ruled out that those ill with the ‘mystery’ pneumonia could be suffering from Covid-19 but the initial tests are not showing the virus.
‘This is in principle permissible, because a coronavirus infection descends from the upper to the lower respiratory tract, and the PCR test does not always show a [positive] result,’ said chief sanitary officer Aizhan Esmagambetova.
‘Today we do not have data that would confirm that our tests are invalid or the studies are conducted with some errors,’ she added.
PCR stands for polymerase chain reaction and the test exists to determine whether or not someone has coronavirus.
China pointed to evidence that Atyrau and Aktobe provinces and Shymkent city had seen significant spikes in pneumonia cases since mid-June.
Some 500 non-Covid-19 pneumonia cases had been recorded in the three places, with 30-plus patients in a critical condition.
Mangistau and Pavlodar regions have also seen a rise in deaths from pneumonia.
Aktobe, Karaganda, Zhambyl and Turkestan regions, and Shymkent city have seen a surge in hospitalisations with pneumonia.
The country is urgently purchasing an additional 1,600 ventilators and 800 ambulances to cope with the alarming increase, say reports.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokaev in a televised address warned: ‘It is now crucial to avoid panic in society.’
He blasted officials for failing to ensure restrictions were effective, claiming carelessness had led to the current crisis.
‘We are essentially dealing with a second wave of coronavirus, coupled with a sharp increase in pneumonia infections,’ he said.
‘The threat of coronavirus should not be underestimated. It’s wrong to keep thinking it is a common flu, it is a much more insidious and dangerous disease,’ he said.
He demanded an end to the stockpiling of medicines.
There had been fears about his strongman predecessor Nursultan Nazarbaev, 80, but he has been confirmed clear of Covid-19.
China’s warning about the mystery pneumonia is oddly reminiscent of when Chinese scientists announced to the world in January that they had discovered a never-before-seen strain of coronavirus that resembled pneumonia, now known as SARS-CoV-2.
It’s currently unclear why the Chinese embassy has described the pneumonia as ‘unknown’.
Diplomats urged Chinese nationals to take the same precautions as they were with coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan and has infected more than 12 million people around the globe.
This includes people not leaving their homes unless necessary, wearing a face mask, practicing social distancing and washing hands thoroughly and often.
Chief sanitary officer Esmagambetova said the mortality rate from pneumonia has increased in Kazakhstan four times in June 2020 compared to the same time frame last year.
She added that many of those who have fallen ill were not diagnosed with COVID-19, reported RT News.
Kazakhstan went into a strict lockdown on March 16, but later lifted many of the restrictions on May 11.
On Sunday, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev imposed a second round of restrictions after a surge in coronavirus cases.
On Thursday, Kazakhstani officials recorded 1,962 new COVID-19 cases, the highest-single day increase, Kazinform reported.
Tokayev said the nation was ‘in fact facing the second coronavirus wave coupled with a huge uptick in pneumonia cases,’ according to Russian news agency Tass.
The Central Asian country has reported 53,021 cases of the coronavirus. 35,137 patients have recovered, while 264 people have died due to the virus.
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