China: at least 60,000 Covid-related deaths since restrictions lifted

Europe 1 with AFP 2:38 p.m., January 14, 2023

China, criticized for its lack of transparency on the Covid-19 epidemic, announced Saturday at least 60,000 deaths linked to the virus, since the lifting of health restrictions in the country a month ago.

After three years of some of the most draconian restrictions in the world, China abruptly lifted most of its health measures against the coronavirus in early December.

The number of patients has grown rapidly.

Hospitals find themselves overwhelmed with elderly patients and crematoriums appear overwhelmed by the influx of bodies.

Contrary to the situation observed on the ground, only a handful of deaths had so far been reported by the authorities.

Beijing also reviewed its methodology for accounting for Covid deaths in December.

Only people who died directly from respiratory failure linked to Covid are now included in the statistics. 

This controversial change in methodology means that a large number of deaths are no longer listed as being due to Covid.

The World Health Organization (WHO) had criticized this new Chinese definition of a Covid death, deeming it "too narrow".

First non-exhaustive assessment

On Saturday, health authorities unveiled their first non-exhaustive assessment of the epidemic, since the lifting of health restrictions last month.

“Between December 8, 2022 and January 12, 2023, a total of 59,938 [deaths] were recorded” in medical establishments across the country, health authority official Jiao Yahui told reporters.

Among these deaths, 5,503 were caused directly by respiratory failure linked to Covid-19, said this official.

In addition, 54,435 deaths are due to underlying diseases associated with Covid, according to the same source.

This assessment, which does not take into account deaths occurring outside the hospital system, is undoubtedly underestimated.

The average age of the victims was 80 years old.

The elderly are considered particularly vulnerable because many in China are poorly or not vaccinated.

The health authorities justify the publication of this report, more than a month after the lifting of health restrictions, by the time necessary to bring up the information.

Peak reached

The World Health Organization (WHO) had repeatedly expressed its doubts about epidemiological data from Beijing.

“We continue to ask China for faster, regular and reliable data on hospitalizations and deaths, as well as more complete and real-time sequencing of the virus,” insisted WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom. Ghebreyesus.

Beijing had castigated these criticisms and called on the WHO to adopt an "impartial" position on the Covid.

The epidemic peak also seems to have passed.

At the end of December, nearly 3 million patients across the country had consulted for fever, against less than 500,000 on January 12, according to figures released on Saturday.

In Beijing, shopping malls, restaurants and transport are once again lively, after several weeks during which many sick residents stayed at home.

The authorities fear a new epidemic rebound with displacements linked to the Lunar New Year festivities, as millions of Chinese prepare to reunite with their families.

"Not necessary"

On Wednesday, the Chinese health authorities had estimated that it was "not necessary" immediately to dwell on the precise number of deaths linked to Covid.

"The main task during the pandemic is to care for patients," said epidemiologist Liang Wannian.

"For the moment, I do not think it is necessary to investigate the cause (of deaths) for each individual case", insisted the one who is also in China the head of the group of experts against the Covid commissioned by the National Health Commission.

Liang Wannian also argued for the lack of consensus at the international level for the classification of a death linked to Covid.

If consensus "cannot be reached, then each country will make a classification according to its own situation," the official said.

China could determine the death figures by examining the excess mortality a posteriori, had suggested for his part Wang Guiqiang, head of the infectious diseases department of the number 1 Hospital of Peking University.

At this press conference on Wednesday, only 37 Covid-related deaths had been recorded in China since last month, out of a population of 1.4 billion.