The total number likely exceeds the figure, which only includes deaths at medical facilities. According to Chinese health officials, it includes 5,503 deaths caused by the virus directly causing respiratory failure and 54,435 deaths caused by underlying diseases and Covid-19.
Beijing: The first significant death count to be released by the Chinese government since the virus’s restrictions were eased at the beginning of December was on Saturday, when the country’s health authorities reported nearly 60,000 Covid-19-related deaths in just over a month.
Jiao Yahui, head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission, told a press conference that China recorded 59,938 deaths related to Covid-19 between December 8, 2022 and January 12, this year.
The total number likely exceeds the figure, which only includes deaths at medical facilities.
According to Jiao, it includes 5,503 deaths brought on by the virus directly causing respiratory failure and 54,435 deaths brought on by underlying diseases and Covid.
Since abandoning its zero-Covid policy at the beginning of December, China has been accused of underreporting the number of virus deaths it has experienced.
On Wednesday, health officials insisted that it was “not necessary” to focus on the precise number.
Beijing had previously changed the way it categorized Covid deaths, saying that it would only count those who died specifically from the virus’s respiratory failure.
However, the World Health Organization had criticized this, stating that the new definition was “too narrow.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO chief, stated that the organization was still “asking China for more rapid, regular, and reliable data on hospitalization and deaths, as well as… viral sequencing.”
Health officials in China said on Saturday that the average age of those who died was 80.3 years old, and that more than 90% of those who died were over the age of 65.
They claimed that the majority had underlying conditions. In China, millions of people over 60 are unvaccinated.
