New Delhi: China has once again come under scrutiny as the number of Covid-19 cases in the country has increased for hiding the actual number of virus deaths due to other reasons.
Taiwan News, citing the Financial Times, reported that Chinese authorities are actually hiding the actual number of deaths due to COVID-19 if the patient has any other chronic disease at the time of death.
For example, if the patient had cancer, heart disease or diabetes, the cause of death would not be classified as COVID but as a chronic disease. News agency ANI reported that this faulty methodology was confirmed by Jin Dong-yan, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong.
Dr. Jin said, “The numbers are not accurate, but Shanghai hospitals are not necessarily doing so intentionally. This was the way China recorded deaths from the very beginning.”
According to Taiwan News, “The country has recorded only two deaths since March 1, of more than 443,000 cases, both of which occurred in Jilin province, which borders North Korea. Nevertheless, according to one report, many people have directly Directly informed the Financial Times that his relatives in Shanghai have passed away after contracting the disease.”
Reporting narrows the gap in how Chinese officials classify deaths. This method of showing deaths is hiding the true number of the latest deaths omicron The wave that has strangled the country, experts told the Financial Times.
Meanwhile, official underreporting has left China vulnerable to global scrutiny, like the virus’s mismanagement when it was first detected in Wuhan province in late 2019.
On the other hand, the Chinese population is also not happy especially with President Xi Jinping’s policy to fight the virus as the unrest spreads from Shanghai to other parts of the country.
Currently, at least 44 Chinese cities are under full or partial shutdown, causing disruption in supply lines as authorities scramble to maintain the movement of basic goods.