Beijing-January 14, 2023

Since the Chinese authorities suddenly announced

Lifting health measures related to the coronavirus in early December last year 2022, the Chinese health authorities revealed the registration of about 60 thousand deaths from the coronavirus during five weeks between December 8, 2022 and January 12, 2023.

This is the first significant covid-19 death toll reported by the Chinese government since the sudden lifting of health measures in early December.

The head of the medical department office of the National Health Commission, Jiao Yahui, told reporters that China has recorded 59,938 deaths related to covid-19.

This figure refers exclusively to covid-19 deaths recorded in medical facilities, with the total number of deaths likely to be greater.

This includes 5,503 deaths from respiratory failure directly caused by the virus and 54,435 deaths from underlying diseases associated with covid-19.

China has been accused of not reporting the exact number of coronavirus deaths since it abandoned its zero covid policy in early December.

The Chinese authorities had considered last Wednesday that there was "no need" to immediately delve into the exact number of deaths associated with infection with covid-19, after the World Health Organization criticized Beijing for the inaccuracy of its data.

Last week, the World Health Organization criticized China's New "too narrow" definition of covid-19 deaths.

"We continue to ask China to provide regular and reliable data faster on hospitalizations and deaths, as well as more complete and real-time genetic sequencing of the virus,"WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference last week.

China's health authorities said that the average age of the deceased is 80.3 years, noting that more than 90% of the deceased are over 65 years old. Most of them were suffering from other diseases, according to the authorities.