• China abruptly abandoned its zero-Covid policy in early December.
• China recorded only about 80,000 Covid deaths in hospitals in the two months after lifting its limitations.
• It stated China’s efforts resulted in more than 200 million people receiving medical treatment.

China’s senior officials declared a “decisive triumph” over Covid-19, claiming the world’s lowest fatality rate, although experts have questioned Beijing’s data as the coronovirus tore across the country after mainly being kept at bay for three years.

China abruptly abandoned its zero-Covid policy in early December, with 80% of its 1.4 billion population being infected, a key government expert stated last month.

Though there were widespread stories of filled hospital rooms and mortuaries, China recorded only about 80,000 Covid deaths in hospitals in the two months after lifting its limitations.

Other analysts claim the actual toll was significantly greater, as many patients die at home and doctors were widely known to have been discouraged from reporting Covid as a cause of death.

“With ongoing efforts to optimise Covid-19 prevention and control measures since November 2022, China’s Covid-19 reaction has made a smooth transition in a relatively short time,” China’s Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) stated in a meeting on Thursday.

It stated China’s efforts resulted in more than 200 million people receiving medical treatment, including roughly 800,000 serious cases.

According to official media, leaders warned that while the situation is better, the virus is spreading globally and mutating.

China would boost senior vaccinations and medical product manufacture, the summit said. According to Xinhua, China’s top leadership council, the PSC, asked all areas and agencies to improve medical services.

The remark came weeks before China’s annual legislature session and as regulators try to restore an economy ravaged by three years of Covid restrictions.

After unprecedented demonstrations, China abruptly ended President Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid policy in December, releasing the coronavirus on a population that had been mostly protected since it surfaced in Wuhan in late 2019.

For months, many countries and the WHO have suspected China of underreporting deaths, with some experts forecasting that Covid might kill at least one million Chinese this year.

The government stated the Covid situation was “minimal” after the Chinese New Year, despite concerns that the enormous flow of travellers would cause an outbreak.

[embedpost slug=”covid-chinese-tourists-hit-thai-beaches-for-first-time-in-3-years/”]