Awareness of International Criticism
Also Intended to Weaken Justification for Strengthening Quarantine Measures in Each Country
[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] The Chinese government has drawn attention by announcing the number of deaths related to COVID-19 without prior notice after easing quarantine measures. The prevailing opinion is that this move is to respond to major countries strengthening quarantine for arrivals from China due to the lack of disclosure of COVID-19 related data. There is also analysis reflecting expectations that related figures will improve as the infection trend has passed its peak.
The Chinese State Council's federal epidemic prevention agency announced on the 14th that the cumulative number of in-hospital deaths related to COVID-19, aggregated by medical institutions nationwide from December 8 last year to the 12th of this month, was 59,938. The reference date for the announcement, "December 8," was the day the Chinese government effectively abandoned its zero-COVID policy and simultaneously lowered quarantine standards by announcing the "10 measures." This is the first time the number of deaths has been aggregated and disclosed since then.
The announced death toll includes those who died from underlying conditions and multiple factors. Until now, Chinese authorities had only counted deaths from pneumonia and respiratory failure as COVID-19 deaths, which had been criticized as an attempt to downplay the scale of deaths and conceal the damage. According to the announcement, among the 59,938 hospitalized patients, 54,435 (90.8%) had underlying conditions, and 5,503 (9.2%) had respiratory failure as a factor. Major underlying conditions were known to include cardiovascular diseases, terminal cancer, cerebrovascular diseases, respiratory system diseases, metabolic-related diseases, and renal failure. The average age of the deceased was 80.3 years, mostly elderly, with those aged 65 and over accounting for 90.1%.
The government’s relatively detailed announcement of the death status is interpreted as being conscious of international criticism for not disclosing or sharing data that would reveal the COVID-19 situation. In particular, it is widely evaluated both domestically and internationally as a response to the fact that many countries have strengthened COVID-19 quarantine measures for arrivals from China citing this reason.
There is also analysis that the judgment that the COVID-19 epidemic situation has peaked and will improve played a role. According to the authorities’ announcement, the number of COVID-19 related hospitalized patients recorded 1,625,000 on the 5th and has shown a decreasing trend, falling to 1,270,000 by the 12th. The number of severe hospitalized patients also decreased from about 128,000 to 105,000 during the same period. A diplomatic source explained, "It seems that the expectation that related figures will show an improving trend in the future was reflected, judging that the situation has passed the worst."
However, despite the Chinese authorities’ announcement, there are still skeptical views regarding the local outbreak situation. Huang Yanzhong, Senior Fellow for Global Health at the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations, told CNN, "There is still a large gap between the data announced by China and international estimates (900 million infected Chinese, 64% national infection rate, etc.)," adding, "It is insufficient to dispel external doubts."
Renowned virus expert Professor Jin Dongyan of the University of Hong Kong said, "This announcement should be the first step toward timely and transparent sharing of COVID-19 statistics," and explained, "Important information such as infection rates in the general population, infection rates among the elderly, hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) admission status should continue to be disclosed." Professor Jin also emphasized, "Above all, the results of variant virus analysis must be shared," stressing, "Both the Chinese people and the international community need to know about China’s COVID-19 statistics."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
