China claims that covid deaths are down by 80% in the new year
China claims that covid deaths are down by 80% in the new year
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The number of daily Covid-19 deaths in China has dropped by nearly 80% since the beginning of the month, according to authorities, indicating that the country’s unprecedented infection surge may be easing.

Since Beijing abruptly ended its zero-Covid policy last month, a wave of virus cases has swept over the world’s most populous nation.

Given China’s narrow definition of a Covid death and official estimates that large swaths of the population have been infected, Beijing’s figures are thought to only represent a fraction of the true toll.

The CDC announced last week that nearly 13,000 people died from Covid-related illnesses between January 13 and 19, adding to a previous announcement that nearly 60,000 people had died from the virus in hospitals in just over a month.

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However, recent local government announcements and media reports indicate that the wave may have begun to recede since peaking in late December and early January, when hospitals and crematoriums were overcrowded.

The virus was responsible for 896 deaths in hospitals on Monday, a 79 percent decrease from January 4, according to a statement released by China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday.

Severe cases in hospitals had also decreased to 36,000 by Monday, a 72 percent decrease from a high of 128,000 on January 5, according to the CDC.

The announcement came during China’s most important public holiday, the Lunar New Year, and authorities had previously warned that the period of mass travel and social gatherings could result in a new outbreak of infections.

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According to state broadcaster CCTV, around 664 million trips were taken nationwide during the Lunar New Year travel period as of Tuesday, citing official figures.