A resident in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province uses an oximeter to monitor blood oxygen saturation on December 11, 2022. Photo: VCG

Orders for oximeters soared in China amid COVID-19 flare-ups, with merchants working overtime to pack and deliver products to meet surging demand, a number of employees from medical equipment firms told the Global Times on Friday.

The online Baidu index showed that the daily average search enquires for oximeters in December reached 8,956, representing a 47 percent increase from the previous month. Related keywords include the use and function of oximeter, the brand of equipment as well as the normal value of oxygen saturation.

Oximeters mainly measure pulse rate and oxygen saturation, which is an important indicator of the oxygen concentration in the body. When the ability to draw oxygen into the body is reduced due to lung or heart disease, oxygen saturation will be reduced. It is generally accepted that the normal value of oxygen saturation should be no less than 94 percent, and below 94 percent is regarded as insufficient oxygen supply.

With several Chinese cities experiencing a surge in COVID infections, oxygen saturation has become a main indicator for people to monitor their own or their family's health.

A customer service representative from an online medical equipment store told the Global Times on Thursday that due to the surge in orders, warehouse packers have been working overtime to meet delivery deadlines, with shipping times being about two days.

A staff member from another medical equipment store named Yuwell said more people had been asking about epidemic related products recently, hoping that consumers who have bought the products would wait patiently, as warehouse workers scramble to meet shipments, and the final delivery will be affected by logistics and many other factors.

Faced with surging demand across the domestic market, companies that produce oximeters said that they are rushing to increase the supply in a bid to fill the gap and support medical providers and in-home use.

According to domestic media outlet jwview.com, Contec Medical Systems Co. said that the enterprise has adjusted the production line, and is working overtime with daily shipments expected to reach 100,000 units.

Another two manufacturers Yuwell and Lepu Medical said that they are working on a normal production schedule according to their business plans.

Global Times