China Reports Nearly 60,000 Covid-Related Deaths In 35 Days
BEIJING — In response to allegations that it was withholding statistics, China released almost 60,000 COVID-19-related deaths on Saturday. It also claimed that the “emergency peak” of its most recent surge seemed to have passed.
The National Health Commission said that since December 8, there have been 54,435 fatalities from COVID-19 and other illnesses combined, with 5,503 of those deaths resulting from respiratory failure brought on by COVID-19. According to the report, those “deaths due to COVID” happened in hospitals, but it’s possible that more people also passed away at home.
The official COVID-19 death toll in China, which has been at 10,775 since the disease was discovered there for the first time in late 2019, would more than quadruple as a result of the findings.
China abruptly lifted anti-virus regulations in early December, despite a surge in infections that started in October and has packed hospitals with feverish, wheezing patients. As a result, China stopped providing data on COVID-19 deaths and infections.
Following reports from local and provincial governments that suggested up to hundreds of millions of individuals in China may have contracted the virus, the World Health Organization and other governments made an information request.
According to a National Health Commission official, Jiao Yahui, the peak of the most recent illness wave appeared to have passed based on the decrease in the number of patients visiting fever clinics.
On Dec. 23, 2.9 million people visited those clinics every day, but by Thursday, that number had dropped by 83% to 477,000.
