China has reported nearly 60,000 COVID-19-related deaths since early December, after the country dropped its strict lockdown restrictions.
The announcement follows complaints that the Chinese The government was not disclosing data on the state of the pandemic.
Porcelain abandoned its strict zero COVID policy on December 7, leading to a surge in infections among the population that has low immunity after the Chinese government focused on protecting its population rather than inoculation.
Beijing said the “emergency peak” of its latest coronavirus surge appeared to have passed.
The 59,938 people who died in hospitals between December 8 and January 12 had an average age of 80.3 years.
Of those, 5,503 were caused by respiratory function failure due to COVID infection, while 54,435 were the result of a combination of diseases and coronavirus, authorities said.
The report would more than double the official death toll from COVID-19 in China to 10,775. The number was 5,272 on January 8.
Officials said the COVID fever and emergency hospital admissions had peaked, with the number of coronavirus patients in the hospital continuing to decline.
However, China said those “COVID-related deaths” occurred in hospitals, leaving open the possibility that more people may have died at home.
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Dozens in beds outside Shanghai hospital
Long lines at funeral homes
Nationwide, “the number of visitors to fever clinics generally shows a downward trend after peaking, both in cities and in suburbs.”
rural areas,” Jiao Yahui, an official with the National Health Commission, said at a news conference.
Ms. Jiao said that the number of patients undergoing emergency treatment was also declining, and the proportion of patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 was also steadily declining.
Wen Daxiang, an official with the Shanghai Health Commission, said China will strengthen control and management of the health of its high-risk population and bolster the supply of medicines and medical equipment in rural areas.
Authorities had been reporting five deaths or fewer each day for the past month, despite long lines at funeral homes and body bags seen leaving overcrowded hospitals.
Last month, officials said they planned monthly updates instead of daily.
How is the UK responding?
The UK announced that test random passengers on direct flights from mainland China to the UK for COVID-19.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said its new program would see “a sample of passengers arriving in England from mainland China undergo tests for COVID-19 at the point of arrival”.
The agency said passengers at Heathrow would be invited to take part in the study and all positive samples would be sent for sequencing.
While China reported almost 60,000 COVID-related deaths in just over a month, the UK has seen almost 178,000 deaths in the 28 days after a positive test since the UK began recording COVID-related deaths.
