China reports record number of covid-19 deaths in one month
China reported almost 60,000 deaths in just over a month related to Covid-19, the first significant number of deaths published by the government since it relaxed its strict sanitary measures in December.
Jiao Yahui, head of the medical administration office of the National Health Commission, stated that the figure, from December 8th, 2022 to January 12th, 2023, includes 5,503 deaths caused by respiratory failure directly due to the virus, and 54,435 deaths caused by underlying diseases combined with Covid.
The average age of the deceased is 80.3 years and more than 90% of the deaths are people over 65. Most of the fatalities had underlying diseases, according to the health authorities.
Critics have accused China of failing to declare all Covid-related deaths since December. This new record figure will fuel further questions about the accuracy of the numbers released.
