In China, since the beginning of January, the number of daily deaths due to Covid-19 has fallen by 80%. The latest wave of infections that hit the country in early December is therefore starting to slow down, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hospitals there recorded 896 deaths from the coronavirus on Monday, down 79% from Jan. 4, a statement said on Wednesday.
The number of serious cases in hospitals also fell by 72%, from 128,000 on January 5 to 36,000 on Monday, according to the CDC. This decline in coronavirus-related deaths comes after the peak of the epidemic wave was reached in late December and early January, local governments and media reported.
Chinese New Year festivities worry health authorities
But authorities later warned of a new spike in infections after the Lunar New Year, leading to mass movements of people who could spread the virus.
Since Beijing abruptly abandoned its “zero Covid” policy last month, a wave of Covid-19 has swept through the country. Last week, the CDC said nearly 13,000 people had died of Covid-19 between January 13 and January 19, adding to the previously reported figure of around 60,000 people who succumbed to the virus in hospitals in just a short time. more than a month.
Analysts, however, believe that these figures represent only part of the toll, given China’s narrow definition of deaths attributed to Covid-19 and official estimates that large swaths of the population have been infected.