Pandemic
China has reported around 60,000 corona deaths since the beginning of December
Overcrowded hospitals: After the end of China’s strict zero-tolerance policy, the virus is spreading at high speed. photo
© Dake Kang/AP/dpa
The People’s Republic is still fighting against the gigantic corona wave. Now there are the first numbers on the fatalities after the end of the strict corona measures.
According to official figures, around 60,000 people died from or with a corona infection in China after the end of the strict zero-Covid policy. As the National Health Commission announced on Saturday, 5,503 corona patients have died of respiratory failure since December 8.
And 54,435 other deaths occurred in health care facilities from other diseases in combination with a corona infection.
The number of new patients has recently decreased in general. Both cities and rural areas are now showing a “declining trend” after the peak, Commission official Jiao Yahui said at a press conference. The average age of the victims was 80.3 years. Around 90 percent of the reported deaths were over 65 years old and suffered from previous illnesses.
On December 7, after almost three years, Beijing abruptly scrapped most of its controversial and strict corona measures such as lockdowns and mass tests. Since then, the corona virus has spread rapidly in the country, which, according to media reports, has led to hospitals and crematoria being overwhelmed. Beijing also discontinued daily reports on the number of infections and victims across the country. These had already raised considerable doubts among experts and were regarded as far too low.
The now officially announced 60,000 victims are well below international estimates. The London-based data processor Airfinity currently assumes around 3.7 million infections in China every day, with a good 21,000 deaths every day. According to these estimates, almost 350,000 people have died since the beginning of December. According to the projection, the number of corona deaths could increase to 1.7 million by the end of April. First, however, the wave would flatten out. Another rapid increase is to follow by the beginning of March.
Against the background of the massive wave of infections, the World Health Organization (WHO) and governments of China had demanded more transparency. For fear of possible new virus variants, many states imposed restrictions on travelers from the People’s Republic.