China COVID-19 Update: The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged China to keep releasing information about its wave of COVID-19 infections after the government announced nearly 60,000 deaths since early December, following complaints it was failing to tell the world. Failed what was happening.
The announcement on Saturday (Jan 14) was the first official death since the ruling Communist Party abruptly lifted anti-virus restrictions in December despite infections flooding hospitals. That left the WHO and other governments pleading for information, while the United States, South Korea and others imposed controls on visitors from China.
The government said 5,503 people died of respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and 54,435 died of cancer, heart disease and other diseases between December 8 and January 12.
The announcement “allows for a better understanding of the epidemiological situation,” a WHO statement said. It said WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, spoke on the phone with Health Minister Ma Xiaowei.
“WHO requests that this type of detailed information continue to be shared with us and the public,” the agency said.
National Health Commission on COVID deaths:
The National Health Commission said only deaths in hospitals were counted, meaning anyone who died at home would not be included. It gave no indication of when or if it might release updated numbers.
A health official said the “national emergency peak has passed”, based on an 83% drop in the daily number of people visiting fever clinics from a high of 23 December.
The report would more than double China’s official COVID-19 death toll to 10,775 since the disease was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019. China only counts deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official toll, which does not include many deaths that can be attributed to the virus in other countries.
Meanwhile, high-speed train service between China’s mainland and Hong Kong resumed on Sunday under restrictions, allowing up to 5,000 passengers from each side to travel daily and those with a negative virus test within the past 48 hours Is required.
The two sides are reopening suspended travel links as part of Beijing’s “zero-covid” strategy, which aims to keep the virus out of China. Hong Kong imposed separate but equally severe restrictions, which blocked most international travel.
Candice Zhong, a resident of the neighboring mainland city of Shenzhen, who arrived in Hong Kong, said she planned to visit the city’s two major theme parks.
“I want to come to Hong Kong to see how it is now,” Zhong said at the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Terminal. “I’ll go to Disneyland and Ocean Park.”
(with AP inputs)
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