Nearly 60,000 Covid deaths in China since restrictions eased
OFFICIAL SAYS PEAK HAS PASSED WITH FEWER PATIENTS BEING HOSPITALISED
China yesterday said nearly 60,000 people with Covid-19 had died in hospital since it abandoned its zero-Covid policy last month.
In early December, Beijing dismantled its strict three-year anti-virus regime of frequent testing, travel curbs and mass lockdowns after widespread protests in late November, and cases have surged since then across the nation of 1.4 billion.
A health official said that Covid fever and emergency hospitalisations had peaked and the number of hospitalised patients was continuing to decline.
Between December 8 and January 12, the number of Covid-related deaths in Chinese hospitals totalled 59,938, Jiao Yahui, head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission (NHC), told a media briefing.
Respiratory failure
Of those fatalities, 5,503 were caused by respiratory failure due to Covid and the remainder resulted from a combination of Covid and other diseases, she said.
Jiao said China divides Covid-related deaths between those from respiratory failure due to coronavirus infection and those from underlying disease combined with coronavirus infection. “The standard is basically in line with those adopted by the World Health Organization and other major countries,” she said.
A sharp rise in travel ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, when hundreds of millions return home from cities to small towns and rural areas, has fuelled worry that it will bring a surge in cases during the celebration.
New classification
Last month, a Chinese health expert at a government news conference said only deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting Covid would be classified as Covid deaths. Heart attacks or cardiovascular disease causing death of infected people would not get that classification.
Jiao said the number of patients needing emergency treatment was declining and the ratio of patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 was steadily falling as well. The number of severe cases has also peaked, she added, though they remained at a high level, and patients are mostly elderly.
Focus on rural areas
Officials said China will strengthen supplies of drugs and medical equipment in rural areas and beef up training of frontline medical staff in those regions. “The number of fever clinic visitors are generally in a declining trend after peaking, both in cities and rural areas,” Jiao said.
A sharp rise in travel ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, when hundreds of millions return home from cities to small towns and rural areas, has fuelled worry that it will bring a surge in cases during a celebration that begins on Jan. 21.
This week, the WHO warned of risks stemming from holiday travel. China reopened its borders on January 8.
Air travel rebounds
Despite worries about infections, air passenger volumes in China have recovered to 63 per cent of 2019 levels since the annual travel season began on Jan. 7, the industry regulator said.
The rapid business recovery is challenging airlines’ ability to ensure safety, and great attention to pandemic-related risks is needed, said Song Zhiyong, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
The industry needs to “fully understand the special nature, and complexity of the Spring Festival migration in 2023”, Song said in a statement on Friday.
The transport ministry has predicted passenger traffic volumes to jump 99.5 per cent on the year during the festival migration, which runs until February 15, or a recovery to 70.3 per cent of 2019 levels.