China reported roughly 60,000 COVID-19 deaths since early December on Saturday, marking a dramatic uptick in fatalities since Beijing eased its stringent zero-COVID policies.
The tally includes 5,503 deaths attributed to respiratory struggles and 54,435 for COVID-19 ailments coupled with preexisting health conditions between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12, China’s National Health Commission revealed, according to the Associated Press. Chinese officials contend that the country is now past its peak.
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“The number of fever clinic visitors is generally in a declining trend after peaking, both in cities and rural areas,” National Health Commission Jiao Yahui explained, Reuters reported.
China’s 59,938 death count dramatically multiplies the previous official death count of about 5,200 fatalities since the start of the pandemic. It also marks a staggering increase from the 37 deaths Beijing initially reported between Dec. 7 and Jan. 8, according to the Washington Post.
Previously, Beijing largely only publicly tallied individuals who died from the COVID-19 respiratory illness specifically and omitted cases with other underlying medical conditions. Health officials also noted that its 59,938 count was specific to COVID-19 deaths in hospitals, meaning that additional fatalities at home likely were not counted.
China’s official death count is dramatically below other nations with much smaller populations. The United States has recorded nearly 1.1 million deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, despite having a population of about 330 million people. China claims to have a population of about 1.4 billion. Such disparities have raised questions about the accuracy of China’s official COVID-19 figures.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, China pursued some of the most aggressive pandemic suppression measures in the world. The policy slate, dubbed “zero-COVID” sought to root out the disease entirely within China and featured snap lockdowns, stringent testing measures, intense digital tracking, and strict quarantine measures.
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A November fire that killed 10 people who had been sealed inside an apartment due to quarantine policies in the western city of Urumqi, Xinjiang, helped bring domestic angst over the zero-COVID policies to a fever pitch. Mass protests and demonstrations took the country by storm, with some even shouting phrases such as “Xi Jinping, step down!” In response, Chinese officials eased up the measures, starting late last year.
