BEIJING (AP) — China on Saturday reported nearly 60,000 coronavirus-related deaths in just over a month, the first primary figure released by the government since Beijing eased virus restrictions in early December.
He has been widely accused of underestimating the number of coronavirus deaths since abandoning his zero-COVID-19 policy.
Only a few dozen deaths had been officially recorded in December before Saturday’s announcement, despite evidence of crematoria and hospitals being invaded.
But an official with the National Health Commission (NHC) reported Saturday that China recorded 59,938 COVID-19-related deaths between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12.
The figure refers only to deaths in medical facilities, and the total number is most likely to be higher.
The knowledge includes 5,503 deaths caused by respiratory failure due to the virus and 54,435 deaths caused by underlying situations combined with COVID-19, Jiao Yahui, head of the NHC’s Office of Medical Administration, said at a press conference.
Beijing revised its method for categorizing COVID-19 deaths last month and said it would only count those who die in particular from respiratory failure caused by the virus.
This was criticized through the World Health Organization, which said the definition was “too narrow. “
WHO leader Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization continues to “call on China to know faster, more normal and reliable about hospitalizations and deaths, such as. . . viral sequencing”.
However, Beijing insisted it had been with the foreign network over its data, and urged the WHO to “maintain a scientific, objective and fair position. “
Health officials insisted Wednesday that they don’t want to live off the exact number of deaths, and the NHC no longer publishes an official daily COVID-19 number.
“I don’t think it’s mandatory to look for the cause of death for each and every case at this time. The main task of the pandemic deserves to be treatment,” the head of a government-appointed panel of experts told a news conference.
Another expert said at the same press conference that China could limit the number of COVID-19 deaths after the fact by looking for the overall excessive death rate.
Independent infection models have painted a grim picture of what the final cost will be.
Researchers at the University of Hong Kong have estimated that nearly a million Chinese could die this winter.
And health threat research company Airfinity predicts 11,000 deaths and 1. 8 million infections per day, with a total of 1. 7 million deaths through the end of April.
The U. K. -founded research company said its style was based on knowledge of China’s regional provinces before adjustments were implemented in infection reporting, combined with the rates of expansion of cases from other COVID-190 countries when they lifted restrictions.
Health officials said Saturday that the average age of the deceased is 80. 3, with more than 90 percent of deaths older than 65.
Most suffered from underlying conditions, they said.
Millions of elderly people in China are not fully vaccinated, and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government was criticized for failing to prioritize vaccination campaigns among the country’s most vulnerable citizens.
During an outbreak in Hong Kong last year, vaccine hesitancy among the elderly was a leading cause of death.
Of the more than 10,500 deaths in this wave, 67 were unvaccinated and more than 95 of the deaths were people over the age of 60, according to the Hong Kong government.
Officials also reported Saturday that the peak of the existing wave had possibly passed.
Only 2. 9 million patients visited fever clinics on Dec. 23, they said, but that number had dropped to 477,000 nationally as of Jan. 12.
They said the number of critically ill patients in hospitals remains high, but that the peak gave the impression of having been reached in early January.
The priority, they said, was to monitor the scenario in rural spaces and focus on early detection and repair of the most vulnerable.
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