China's top health agency stated on Wednesday that it is now "impossible" to track the true scale of coronavirus infections in the country, with officials warning that cases are rising rapidly in Beijing after the government abruptly abandoned its zero-COVID policy.

After nearly three years of trying to eradicate the virus, Beijing's decision to abandon mass testing and quarantines has led to a decline in officially reported infections, which reached an all-time high just last month.

Wednesday, China's National Health Commission (NHC) acknowledged that those numbers no longer reflected reality, as testing is no longer required for the majority of the country.

"Many asymptomatic individuals are no longer participating in nucleic acid testing, making it impossible to accurately determine the number of asymptomatic infected individuals," the NHC said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Vice Premier Sun Chunlan had previously stated that new infections in the capital were "rapidly growing."

Chinese leaders are determined to move forward despite the fact that the nation is facing an influx of cases that experts fear it is ill-equipped to manage. Still, millions of vulnerable elderly are not fully immunized, and underfunded hospitals lack the resources to handle an influx of infected patients.

Authorities announced on Wednesday that some vulnerable groups, including those aged 60 and older, will be permitted to receive a second booster shot six months after the first.

Multiple Beijing residents told AFP they were infected with COVID on Wednesday, when a line of approximately 50 people extended out the door of a fever clinic.

"Essentially, we are all infected if we are gathered here. We would not be here if it were not the case "one individual in line said.

"I'm here with an elderly family member; he's had a fever for nearly 10 consecutive days, so we're here for a checkup."

Beijing struggles

Now that restaurants, shops, and parks are permitted to reopen, residents are finding it difficult to live with the virus.

Many with symptoms have chosen to self-medicate at home, while others are staying indoors to avoid contracting the virus.

As COVID-19 ravages the population and affects staffing, businesses are also experiencing difficulties.

Consequently, the streets of the capital are largely deserted.

"In general, I adhere to the Beijing government's directive that the elderly should stay at home and venture out as little as possible," said an 80-year-old resident who declined to give his name.

He was unconcerned because he believed Omicron to be mild, but he told AFP that "there shouldn't be complete relaxation and freedom."

"How can we be free if we are dead?" he asked.

In the past week, searches for fever-reducing Ibuprofen increased by 430%, according to Chinese search engine Baidu.

The skyrocketing demand for rapid antigen tests and medications has spawned a black market with astronomical prices, with buyers resorting to WeChat groups to obtain the goods from "dealers."

The local Beijing News reported on Tuesday that market regulators issued a $43,000 (300,000 yuan) fine to a Beijing company for selling overpriced test kits.

In a country where infection with the virus was once taboo and recovered patients faced discrimination, people are now using social media to flaunt their test results and provide detailed accounts of their experiences while ill.

"When my body temperature exceeded 37.2 degrees, I began to add sugar and salt to my lemon water," "Nina," a Beijing-based user of the Xiaohongshu social networking site, wrote in an account meant as advice for those who had not yet contracted the virus.

Wang, a 50-year-old Beijing resident, told AFP: "I believe that everyone has adjusted to it. They have progressed."

I do not believe that people are that fragile.