China finally releases data related to Covid-19 fatalities in which the authorities reported over 60,000 deaths within 35 days of the outbreak. The Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission held a press conference on Saturday, “China recorded 59,938 Covid-related deaths between December 8, 2022, and January 12 this year”, said Jiao Yahui head of the Bureau.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly asked Chinese authorities to keep updating the information about its wave of Covid-19 infections after the government announced nearly 60,000 deaths since early December. The given data on casualties are recorded at medical facilities actual data is likely to be higher.
The data include 5,503 deaths caused by respiratory failure directly due to the virus, and 54,435 deaths caused by underlying diseases combined with Covid, Jiao Yahui said.
During the press conference, the health authorities mentioned that the average age of those who died was 80.3 years old, with over 90 percent of fatalities above 65 years old. They have accepted the fact that Millions of people over the age of 60 years are still unvaccinated.