China says nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 have died in hospital since it abandoned its zero-COVID policy last month, a huge increase from previously reported figures that follows global criticism of the country's coronavirus data.
Key points:
- China had previously reported just over 5,000 deaths since the pandemic began
- The WHO had said earlier this week said that China was heavily under-reporting deaths from the virus
- Authorities had been reporting five or fewer deaths a day over the past month
In early December, Beijing abruptly dismantled its strict three-year anti-virus regime of frequent testing, travel curbs and mass lockdowns after widespread protests in late November, and cases have surged since then across the nation of 1.4 billion.
A health official said on Saturday that COVID fever and emergency hospitalisations had peaked and the number of hospitalised patients was continuing to decline.
Between December 8 and January 12, the number of COVID-related deaths in Chinese hospitals totalled 59,938, Jiao Yahui, head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission (NHC), told a media briefing.
Of those fatalities, 5,503 were caused by respiratory failure due to COVID and the remainder resulted from a combination of COVID and other diseases, she said.
Elderly patients with COVID symptoms receive intravenous drips at the emergency ward of a hospital in Fuyang in central China's Anhui province.(AP: Chinatopix)
The World Health Organization, which earlier this week said that China was heavily under-reporting deaths from the virus and called for more information, on Saturday welcomed Beijing's announcement, while renewing its plea for more detailed data.
The UN agency said its Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had spoken with Ma Xiaowei, director of China's National Health Commission, about the latest outbreak, which the WHO said was similar to what had been seen in other countries.
"The reported data indicate a decline in case numbers, hospitalisations, and those requiring critical care," it said, commenting on Beijing's numbers.
While international health experts have predicted at least 1 million COVID-related deaths this year, China had previously reported just over 5,000 deaths since the pandemic began, one of the lowest death rates in the world.
Authorities had been reporting five or fewer deaths a day over the past month — figures inconsistent with long queues seen at funeral homes and body bags seen leaving crowded hospitals.
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Story first published on ABC News Australia