Beijing: Seeking treatment for respiratory illnesses, Beijing hospital-goers complained Wednesday that their conditions were being worsened by toxic smog, now in its third day and which prompted authorities to declare a pollution “red alert”.
The capital’s 21.5 million residents were besieged by levels of PM2.5 — harmful microscopic particles that penetrate deep into the lungs — over 300 micrograms per cubic metre, according to the US embassy, which issues independent readings.
The World Health Organization's recommended maximum exposure is 25. “Because of the smog, I generally tend to wear a mask indoors as well as outside, but today, I don't even dare to go out,” said Yu Silong, who has been hospitalised for three days and had to quit his supermarket job to seek treatment.
“Polluted smog didn't cause my asthma, but it greatly aggravates it,” he added, sitting on his bed at the Wangfu Hospital in northern Beijing, an antibiotic drip running into his arm.
Liu Yanping, whose husband had just been diagnosed with a benign throat tumour that prevented him from speaking, said: “The past few days, he's been coughing and feeling horrible.”All they could do was “close the windows and doors” of their Beijing housing, she added.
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