In China, according to the authorities, nearly 60,000 people have died in hospitals in recent weeks due to the coronavirus. Of these, 5,500 died exclusively from corona, for example due to lack of oxygen. Thus, China acknowledges that there are far more deaths than previously reported.

This relates to the period between December 8 and January 12, reports China’s top health authority.

And according to the National Health Commission, the lion’s share of 60,000 deaths has died due to a combination of underlying diseases and corona. Their lifespan was high, with an average of 80 years.

According to the health authority, this only concerns deaths counted in hospitals. Infected persons who died at home were not included in the data. So the actual number of deaths is probably even higher, the Associated Press writes.

This is the first time in more than a month that China has once again shared extensive data about the Corona outbreak in the country, after it stopped doing so after the sudden lifting of most Corona measures.

The World Health Organization (WHO), among others, recently expressed concern about a lack of transparency from China. With the new death figures, the number of official deaths from Corona in China has doubled to more than 10,000.

China has also made a state of affairs regarding infections and hospitalizations. A senior National Health Commission official told a news conference that the peak appeared to be over. She said infections and admissions are steadily decreasing in both cities and rural areas.

According to her, the daily number of people who applied to a clinic due to complaints of Corona reached its peak on December 23, with about 3 million people. Last Thursday there were nearly half a million.

After nearly three years of very strict anti-corona policy, China loosened the reins on December 7. After that, there was almost no scene of an outbreak.

For example, China reported an average of about five corona deaths per day last month, while images showed that hospitals were full of body bags and there were long lines for crematoriums. Due to the outbreak, several countries, including the Netherlands, have decided to require a negative test certificate from travelers from China.