China Hospitals Packed After Surge In Respiratory Illnesses Among Children. IN PICS

Parents with children suffering from respiratory diseases queue up at a hospital in Chongqing, China. The Beijing Children's Hospital is receiving an average of more than 7,000 daily patients, as per CNN. (Source: Getty)

Wait times to see doctors have been stretching for hours. Health officials have attributed the rise in flu-like illnesses to the lifting of Covid curbs, arrival of winter and circulation of known pathogens such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and SARS-CoV-2. (Source: Getty)

China told the World Health Organisation (WHO) that 'no unusual or new pathogens' were detected in the cases. The children are mainly seeing symptoms like high fever and development of pulmonary nodules. (Source: Getty)

Some halls of hospitals were so full that some children with intravenous drips sat on the laps of their parents, CNN reported. (Source: Getty)

The surge in respiratory illnesses in children coincides with China's first full winter season without its 'zero-Covid' controls. (Source: Getty)