BEIJING (AP) — China on Saturday reported nearly 60,000 deaths in people with COVID-19 since early December after complaints it was not releasing data, saying the “emergency peak” of its latest surge appears to have passed.
The figure included 5,503 deaths from respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and 54,435 deaths from other ailments combined with COVID-19 since December 8, the National Health Commission announced. He said those “COVID-related deaths” occurred in hospitals, leaving open the possibility that more people may have died at home as well.
The report would more than double China’s official death toll from COVID-19 to 10,775 since the disease was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019.
China stopped reporting data on COVID-19 deaths and infections after abruptly lifting anti-virus controls in early December despite a surge in infections that began in October and has filled hospitals with patients with fever and wheezing.
The World Health Organization and other governments called for information after reports from municipal and provincial governments suggested hundreds of millions of people in China may have contracted the virus.
The peak of the latest wave of infections appears to have passed due to the decline in the number of patients visiting fever clinics, said an official with the National Health Commission, Jiao Yahui.
The daily number of people attending such clinics peaked at 2.9 million on Dec. 23 and fell 83% to 477,000 on Thursday, according to Jiao.
“These data show that the peak of the national emergency has passed,” Jiao told a news conference.
The United States, South Korea and other governments have imposed virus tests and other controls on people arriving from China. Beijing retaliated Wednesday by suspending the issuance of new visas to travelers from South Korea and Japan.
China kept its infection rate and deaths lower than the United States and some other countries at the height of the pandemic with a “zero COVID” strategy that aimed to isolate all cases. That closed off access to some cities, kept millions of people at home and sparked angry protests.
The average age of people who died since December 8 is 80.3 years and 90.1% are 65 years or older, according to the Health Commission. He said that more than 90% of the people who died had cancer, heart or lung disease, or kidney problems.
“The number of elderly patients who die from disease is relatively large, which suggests that we should pay more attention to elderly patients and do everything possible to save their lives,” Jiao said.
Earlier this month, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said agency officials met with Chinese officials to stress the importance of sharing more details about COVID-19 issues, including hospitalization rates and sequences. genetics.
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