Picture : Twitter/ ANI
China has announced that nearly 60,000 Covid-19 deaths were reported since the country lifted its strict “Zero Covid Policy” on December 7, last year, Global Times reported citing National Health Commission.
As per ANI report, The National Health Commission of China revealed a total of 59,938 COVID-19-related deaths between December 8, 2022, and January 12 this year, explaining that the spike in cases is because of relaxing the Covid policy on December 7.
NHC official Jiao Yahui, who revealed the Covid-19 data, said that the average age of those who died in the period was 80.3 years old, with 90.1 per cent of the fatalities above 65 years old, and 56.5 per cent aged above 80 years old; more than 90 per cent suffered from underlying conditions, according to Global Times.
China has insisted on classifying deaths of patients with a positive nucleic acid test as COVID-19-related deaths, which is in line with the WHO and international standards, Jiao noted.
She further added that the causes of death are twofold one is respiratory failure and death, or underlying diseases interacting with the coronavirus leading to death.
Among the reported 59,938 COVID-19 deaths, 5,503 were due to respiratory failure caused by the virus, and 54,435 were from underlying conditions interacting with epidemic infection, according to the Global Times citing NHC.
