From zero-Covid to haphazard easing: Since the explosion of corona cases and the abrupt end of China’s rigorous zero-tolerance strategy two weeks ago, the virus has been spreading rapidly among billions of people.
Hospitals are full in many places. In Beijing, the crematoria can no longer keep up with the cremation of the dead. According to estimates, hundreds of thousands of deaths are expected. But the government would rather only speak of an innocent “corona cold”.
Officially there are no new corona deaths. But how can one? The government has changed the criteria. The day before, authorities had stated that in the future only those who died directly from respiratory problems caused by the virus would be counted as corona deaths.
Previously, as in other countries around the world, all people who died from an illness during an infection with the coronavirus were counted as corona deaths.
The Omicron variant is rampant in China
“The leading cause of death after infection with the omicron variant is still underlying diseases,” health official Wang Guiqiang said at a press conference of the National Health Commission on Tuesday. “Old people have other underlying illnesses, very few die directly from respiratory failure caused by Corona.”
Due to the new counting method, a large number of corona deaths in China will no longer be counted in the future, health expert Yanzhong Huang of the American Council on Foreign Relations told AFP news agency. The reason is that the currently dominant variant of the omicronvirus places less stress on the lungs and therefore leads to respiratory failure less often.
By contrast, according to the “international standard”, all people who die during a Covid 19 illness would continue to count as corona deaths, the expert said. It is hard to imagine that China’s deviation from this norm “is not politically motivated”.
The People’s Republic surprisingly heralded the end of its controversial zero-Covid policy this month after nationwide protests. Since then, the number of infections has exploded. According to the authorities, due to the end of the mandatory test, it is now impossible to estimate the number of corona cases.
Most recently, the country’s crematoriums had reported a sharp rise in deaths – with no official link to the coronavirus made. (SDA)