Two years after the outbreak of the Covid epidemic, the spread of a new wave in China has recently raised questions about how the authorities calculate the number of deaths caused by the virus, and about the continued decline in these numbers compared to high levels of infection.
And in Shanghai, China’s largest city, 190 deaths out of more than 520,000 infections were recorded in about two months, a very low percentage compared to those cases caused by the mutated Omicron in other parts of the world.
The ruling Chinese Communist Party may have released the numbers as evidence of the success of its strict strategy to fight the virus, but experts say the numbers alone don’t tell the whole story.
Shanghai, the worst-hit city among Chinese cities in the current coronavirus wave, has recorded a death rate of 0.036 percent since March 1, or 36 deaths for every 100,000 infected.
China managed to contain the virus outbreak locally, down to a few infections, before the last wave appeared. However, the death toll is small compared to other countries whose efforts in this regard are commendable.
“If the death rate in Shanghai were the same as in New Zealand, which is 0.07 percent of the current wave of Omicron, there would be more than 300 deaths,” Michael Baker, professor of public health at the University of Otago in New York. Zealand, according to AFP.
China has recorded fewer than 5,000 Covid deaths despite tracking nearly 200,000 symptomatic cases and more than 470,000 asymptomatic cases since the start of the epidemic.
One explanation for the low death toll could be that China is “too strict about classifying Covid-related deaths,” Tambia told AFP. The Chinese Health Commission told AFP that the result takes into account Covid-infected people who die before they recover from the disease.
This leaves room for exclusion from the number of deceased patients infected with mostly latent diseases with an exacerbation of the disease, if they died as a result of these diseases after they were officially registered in the list of recovered patients.
Another factor could be related to China’s strict testing policy, which could detect more infections compared to countries like India, which are facing test shortages.
However, “there is a constant gap between observed and reported cases, on the one hand, and people who fall ill and die as a result of their injuries.”
