China changes counting criteria as death toll rises amid massive Covid-19 spread

Amid China's Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, images have emerged on social media platforms showing busy hospitals and funeral homes, reported CNN. The local media of China has been deliberately ignoring scenes of crowded hospital wards and packed crematoriums unfolding at home on the other hand Chinese official states that few people have died of Covid.

It's been three years that China has been following its Zero Covid policy that has shielded the people of China from such kind of mass deaths that haunted Western nations. But China's authorities have suddenly called off its Zero covid policy just after a major China protest which has resulted in a surge of deaths that has been projected to reach one million by experts.

The Chinese government officials have reported only eight Covid deaths this month which is a strikingly low figure given the rapid spread of Covid-19 in China. the death of two veteran state media journalists infected with Covid has been reported by the Chinese local financial magazine, on the day the official toll stood at zero. 

Covid deaths in China 

China has been downplaying its Covid-19 deaths and the officials of the Chinese government have been defending the accuracy of the tally of deaths by changing the methods of counting fatalities caused by the virus. 

During a press conference, a top infectious disease doctor, Wang Guiqiang said, "As per the latest guidelines from the National Health Commission, Covid deaths would be considered only when death is caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting the virus," reported CNN.

Further, he said that those who have died due to any other disease will not be counted as a virus death, even if they were sick with Covid at the time. 

On Wednesday. the World Health Organization’s emergencies chief, Michael Ryan said that the definition was “quite narrow,” while talking about China’s criteria for counting Covid deaths, reported CNN.