Numerous people have charged China with understating the number of deaths caused by the coronavirus.
By AFP
14 January 2023
Patients with Covid-19 who are elderly at a hospital in the Anhui Province of east China. — AFP/Files
Senior Covid-19 patients at a hospital in the Anhui Province of eastern China. — AFP/Files
BEIJING: The first significant death toll announced by the government after it relaxed its viral restrictions in early December, China's health authorities disclosed on Saturday over 60,000 COVID-related deaths in a little more than a month.
Since the end of its zero-COVID policy, China has been accused frequently of underreporting the number of fatalities caused by the coronavirus.
Prior to the statement on Saturday, only a few deaths had been formally reported in December, despite indications of overcrowded hospitals and crematoriums.
But on Saturday, a representative of the National Health Commission (NHC) announced
Numerous people have charged China with understating the number of deaths caused by the coronavirus.
By AFP
14 January 2023
Patients with Covid-19 who are elderly at a hospital in the Anhui Province of east China. — AFP/Files
Senior Covid-19 patients at a hospital in the Anhui Province of eastern China. — AFP/Files
BEIJING: The first significant death toll to be disclosed by the government since it relaxed its viral restrictions in early December, China's health authorities reported on Saturday that about 60,000 COVID-related deaths had occurred in just over a month.
Health officials emphasized on Wednesday that focusing on the precise figure was not necessary.
Beijing changed its classification system for COVID fatalities last month and said that it will only include individuals who expressly pass away from respiratory failure brought on by the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) criticized this, saying
vulnerable seniors
According to health officials, the average age of individuals who passed away was 80.3 years, with more than 90% of fatalities occurring in people over the age of 65.
They claimed that most had underlying medical issues.
Millions of elderly people in China are under-vaccinated, and President Xi Jinping's administration has come under fire for not giving immunization campaigns priority among the population's most vulnerable members.
On Saturday, officials added their support to the idea that the current wave's crest may have already passed.
Fever clinics saw just under 2.9 million people on December 23, but by January 12, the number had fallen to 477,000 across the country.
They claimed there were still many really ill people in hospitals, but that the peak seems to have occurred in the early 1990s.
BEIJING: The first significant death toll to be disclosed by the government since it relaxed its viral restrictions in early December, China's health authorities reported on Saturday that about 60,000 COVID-related deaths had occurred in just over a month.
Health officials emphasized on Wednesday that focusing on the precise figure was not necessary.
Beijing changed its classification system for COVID fatalities last month and said that it will only include individuals who expressly pass away from respiratory failure brought on by the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) criticized this, saying
vulnerable seniors
According to health officials, the average age of individuals who passed away was 80.3 years, with more than 90% of fatalities occurring in people over the age of 65.
They claimed that most had underlying medical issues.
Millions of elderly people in China are under-vaccinated, and President Xi Jinping's administration has come under fire for not giving immunization campaigns priority among the population's most vulnerable members.
On Saturday, officials added their support to the idea that the current wave's crest may have already passed.
Fever clinics saw just under 2.9 million people on December 23, but by January 12, the number had fallen to 477,000 across the country.
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