By Joe McDonald -
The Associated Press
China on Saturday reported the death of nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 since early December after complaints that the government did not publish data on the pandemic situation in the country and said the "emergency peak" of the latest outbreak seems to have passed.
The number included 5,503 deaths from respiratory failure caused by the coronavirus and another 54,435 caused by other ailments combined with COVID-19.
The National Health Commission said these deaths occurred in hospitals, leaving open the possibility that
there are more deaths in private homes.
The report would more than double China's official death toll from COVID-19
, raising it to 10,775 from 5,272 on January 8.
A street in the central financial district of Beijing, this Thursday, January 12, 2023. Mark Schiefelbein / AP
The Chinese government stopped providing data on coronavirus infections and deaths after abruptly lifting its strict pandemic controls in early December despite a spike in infections that began in October that filled hospitals with patients with fever and trouble breathing. .
The World Health Organization and other governments asked Beijing for more information
after reports from municipal and provincial authorities suggested hundreds of millions of people may have contracted the virus.
The peak of the latest wave of infections appears to have passed in view of the drop in the number of patients attending fever clinics, said Jiao Yahui, an official with the National Health Commission.
["Everyone has it": a Hispanic in China tells how the rebound in the virus is experienced in that nation]
The number of daily visits to these types of centers reached its maximum of 2.9 million people on December 23, and on Thursday it had dropped 83% with just 477,000, Jiao added.
"These data show that the peak of the national emergency has passed
," Jiao told a news conference.
The United States, South Korea and other countries are again requiring travelers from China to present a negative coronavirus test, among other checks.
Beijing responded to the move on Wednesday by suspending the issuance of new visas to travelers from South Korea and Japan.
"Everyone has it": a Hispanic in China tells how the rebound in the virus is experienced in that nation
Dec 29, 202201:24
At the height of the pandemic, China kept the infection and death rate below that of the United States and other nations thanks to its strict “zero COVID” protocol, which sought to isolate each positive.
This closed the access to many cities, confined millions of people to their homes and provoked protests.
[Italy, India, Taiwan and Japan are also requiring COVID-19 tests for travelers from China]
The average age of those who died since December 8 was 80.3 years and 90.1% were 65 years or older, according to the Health Commission.
In addition, more than 90% of the dead suffered from cancer, heart or lung disease or kidney problems, it added.