A man carries a bag as he walks by epidemic control workers wearing PPE to protect against the spread of COVID-19 as he leaves after being released from a government quarantine facility on Dec., 7, 2022, in Beijing. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images/TNS)
A man carries a bag as he walks by epidemic control workers wearing PPE to protect against the spread of COVID-19 as he leaves after being released from a government quarantine facility on Dec., 7, 2022, in Beijing. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images/TNS)
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images AsiaPac/TNSBEIJING — Around 60,000 people with COVID-19 have died in China since the end of the country's strict zero-COVID policy, according to official figures.
The National Health Commission said on Saturday that 5,503 COVID-19 patients had died of respiratory failure since Dec. 8 and 54,435 other deaths had occurred in health facilities from other diseases in combination with a COVID-19 infection.
The number of new patients has generally declined recently, it said. Both in urban and rural areas, there is now a "downward trend" after the peak, said commission official Jiao Yahui during a press conference.
After almost three years, Beijing had abruptly canceled most of its strict coronavirus measures such as lockdowns and mass testing on Dec. 7. Since then, the virus has spread rapidly through the country, causing hospitals and crematoria to be overloaded, according to media reports.
Beijing also stopped daily reports on nationwide infection and casualty figures. They had raised considerable doubts among experts and were considered far too low.
Due to the massive wave of infections, the World Health Organization and foreign governments had demanded more transparency from China. Fearing possible new virus variants, many countries imposed restrictions on travelers from China.
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