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China says 2 people have died from COVID rule change. Experts say the numbers don’t add up


More than a month after China began seeing an exponential rise in Covid cases, the country has reported only two deaths from the virus, despite the experience of other countries. other, more vaccinated and better resourced when they reopen and raise suspicion true scale of damage being hide.

The quick abandonment of Covid Zero has seen an explosion of infections, especially in Beijing, which has seen drug shortages, overwhelmed hospital staff and deserted streets as people stay home sick or to avoid viruses. That’s in line with what other places have experienced as they transition from eliminating Covid to living with it – except for the lack of officially reported deaths.

Over the weekend, China reported its first deaths since Covid Zero was lifted earlier this month. In total, the whole country claimed just 11 Covid-19 deaths out of 1.4 billion people as of November 19, which is more than a week after the first meeting of the government expected step towards easing virus policy.

“The very few Covid deaths reported to date are suspiciously low,” said William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University’s medical school in Tennessee. He said a rapid increase in infections is often followed by an increase in the number of Covid-related deaths a week or two later.

“China has vaccinated its people, especially the elderly,” Schaffner said. “So we keep interpreting Covid data from China blindly.”

Field reports suggest Beijing is seeing a wave of deaths, with crematorium workers and relatives saying at least dozens have died. died infected with covid.

That has fueled speculation that officials and hospitals may attribute deaths from the virus to other diseases during outbreaks such as fungi, even though the National Health Commission, the agency for China virus data projection – told Bloomberg. News last week that all people who test positive for Covid when they die are classified as having died from the virus.

China’s Covid death toll is much lower than that of more vaccinated countries that have experienced rounds of reopening.

When omicrons hit South Korea earlier this year, the daily death toll rose to more than 6 per 1 million. Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand saw deaths exceed 3 per million a day at the height of the outbreak after they left behind elimination. Even Singapore, which had a good plan and gradually diverged from stamping out all infections, experienced an increase in the number of deaths by about two parts per million per day.

Hong Kong — place omicron rage Although the city’s unvaccinated elders, which recorded the deadliest outbreak in the world at one point, reported its first deaths in early February. It’s been about three weeks since the city said the virus was spreading locally. More than 10,800 people in the financial center have died of Covid this year, compared to China’s official death toll for the entire pandemic which is a little over 5,000.

The low mortality rate so far also contrasts with China’s own experience. Shanghai report Its first death from Covid came in mid-April, less than three weeks after a brutal two-month lockdown across the city and with fewer than 30,000 cases a day. By the end of May, when the outbreak had largely subsided, more than 580 people had died.

It is in China’s interest to hide or downplay the death toll, based on how it has approached Covid since it emerged.

The government has spent much of the past three years seeing China’s containment of Covid-19 and its low death toll as proof of the superiority of the Communist system. Now, amid the pivot, officials are downplaying the virus, with a top medical adviser saying it could even be called a “cold.” The policy of Covid is inextricably linked to President Xi Jinping, who is looking to consolidate his power after securing a third term in October and installing a new group of leaders.

All evidence points to China moving towards a more severe punishment. get out of the pandemic than other old Covid-free countries.

The elderly are a particular concern. Unlike other countries that prioritize vaccination for residents of aged care facilities, China older people proved difficult to convince and this group is still not fully vaccinated. Only 40% of people over the age of 80 had a booster shot by the end of November and — while there has been a recent push to promote vaccination for older adults — this number is likely to remain low due to lack of regulation. required, when other countries have implemented it.

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