China reports nearly 60,000 COVID-19 death cases on Saturday, a month after the country relaxed its strict “zero Covid” policy, speeding up an outbreak that has likely infected millions of people. China’s first official death toll estimate during the current Covid wave represents a significant increase from previous estimates.
Since the pandemic began in the city of Wuhan in late 2019, only 5,241 Covid deaths had been reported in China as of Saturday. To qualify for this metric, a person had to die from Covid-related pneumonia or respiratory failure. People who died from Covid and other causes were counted in the new number that was released on Saturday.
Despite widespread scenes of overflowing hospitals, mortuaries, and funeral homes across the country, China has come under increasing criticism from other countries and the World Health Organization for its failure to provide reliable data about the scope of its Covid outbreak and the number of deaths.
You can also check out other trending news:
- Robbie Knievel a Motorcycle Stuntman Dies at the Age of 60
- Is There Any Proof That JD and His Wife Have Separated?
China had previously reported that only 37 people had died from Covid since it ended its “zero Covid” policy on December 7.
After China reopened its borders last Sunday, several countries, including Japan and South Korea, imposed travel restrictions on Chinese visitors due to the lack of transparency. Experts have also voiced concerns that downplaying the severity of the outbreak could result in fewer precautions being taken by people within the country.
During a press conference in Beijing on January 12, an official with China’s National Health Commission Jiao Yahui reported that from December 8 through January 12 China had recorded 59,938 deaths related to Covid. Included in that number were the 5,503 people who died from respiratory failure due to Covid. Ms. Jiao also noted that another 54,435 deaths could be attributed to a variety of other medical conditions.
Ms. Jiao explained that China’s delayed release of Covid-related death data was due to the need for an extensive review of hospital reporting. Ms. Jiao explained the delay by saying, “We organized experts to conduct a systematic analysis of the death cases and this took time.”
It was not clear if the new numbers indicated that China had altered the way it disclosed Covid deaths to include people with preexisting conditions that were exacerbated by the virus. The official death toll in China is said to include just those who died of Covid-related pneumonia or respiratory failure. Covid fatalities are tallied more generally in the United States and Britain. Though it’s too early to tell if China has shifted course, experts applaud the country’s newfound willingness to share more information.
Virologist Jin Dongyan from the University of Hong Kong said, “We cannot make a judgment today, but it is definitely more reliable than the earlier data indicating there were only several deaths.” “I’m hoping this new administration will be more open.”
China has a lengthy history of undercounting deaths from infectious diseases like SARS in 2003 and the seasonal flu. But during the spring 2022 Shanghai lockdown, the government established an exception and utilized a broader term to justify the extended detention of residents.
One heart attack was listed as the cause of death for 587 of the Covids reported dead by the Shanghai municipal government at the time; the remaining fatalities were classified as having been caused by “underlying disorders” or malignancies. The National Health Commission has never removed these deaths from the overall count of Covid fatalities, despite the fact that they are inconsistent with the data.
Epidemiologist Ben Cowling from the University of Hong Kong remarked that the true death toll in China, like in every country, was very certainly greater. He claimed that if China had conducted more thorough tests on hospital patients, it would have been able to provide more accurate information on death and infection rates.
Why China with all its Testing Facilities wasn’t Confirming inpatient Covid Instances?
A large portion of China’s elderly population did not receive adequate vaccinations, confirming long-held fears that this group would be disproportionately affected by a pandemic. Over half (56%) of the approximately 60,000 fatalities included those aged 80 or older.
Because Chinese President Xi Jinping advocated for strict lockdowns, quarantines, and mass testing to contain the virus, the deaths from covid have become a highly charged political issue in the country. After the strategy was successful in containing the pandemic’s spread in its early stages, Mr. Xi boasted that it could be replicated in other countries.
You can also check our recent articles:
- Who is The New Drummer for Foo Fighters?
- Master P Wants to Be Single a Decade After Divorcing Sonya Miller
However, since the extremely contagious Omicron form spread over the world in the previous year, this plan was rendered hopeless. Protests broke out in November as more and more individuals grew tired of the Covid limitations in response to the constantly rising number of cases around the country. China’s sudden reversal of its “zero Covid” policy left the country with no time to store up medicine despite the fact that it was already under severe economic duress.
Even while officials have claimed that the current coronavirus epidemic has crested in major cities, concerns are mounting about its impact on the country’s rural areas, which have a much less developed healthcare system than China’s urban centers.
Keep following venturejolt.com for more updates. Don’t forget to bookmark our site for the latest news updates.