China’s healthcare system is buckling under the strain of a new outbreak that has swept through schools and colleges, triggering a surge in hospital admissions and stoking fears that the country may be slipping into an era of repeat pandemics like the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis began with a pneumonia outbreak at a nursing college in Henan, and the virus quickly spread to other educational institutions. As the number of pneumonia cases exploded, hospitals across the country were overwhelmed with
