China has not declared a state of emergency. PolitiFact checked multiple Chinese and U.S. government websites and found no public health emergency announcements. One of the respiratory viruses social media posts are spotlighting is human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, which was discovered in 2001. It causes coldlike symptoms and most cases are mild.

As spikes in a respiratory virus and images of overwhelmed intensive care units emerge, there is a worrying echo of the early days of Covid. Zoë Beaty asks if Beijing is downplaying what is happening