China Hiding Covid Deaths? UK Data Firm Says 9,000 People Die Each Day as Virus Spreads

Health experts have revised their estimate of deaths due to Covid-19 happening in China as reports say the fast-spreading strain of the virus is moving fast in the world's most populous country.

According to UK-based health data firm Airfinity, at least 9,000 people are dying in China each day, the Guardian reported. The revised estimate is almost double the number of deaths they flagged a few weeks ago.

19 Million People Infected

The firm said that the total number of deaths due to Covid-19 in China since the start of December must have gone beyond 100,000. At least 18.6 million people have caught the virus, even as the strain sweeps across the country, the data firm said, after having analysed raw data from Chinese provinces.

Airfinity also said Covid deaths in China are likely to peak by the end of the third week of January, when about 25,000 people could die each day.

China saw a huge surge in infections in November when the government lifted lockdowns, mandatory testing and other measures, as it moved away from a tight zero-Covid policy following rising public resentment and occasional public protest ahead of the Party Congress that anointed Xi Jinping as ruler for a indefinite period.

Monitoring Chinese Travellers

Countries around the world are putting in place measures to monitor travelers from China in the light of the surge in infections. China has registered a strong protest against the measures, but the World Health Organization has said Beijing must be more open about sharing correct data about the pandemic situation.

"In the absence of comprehensive information from China, it is understandable that countries around the world are acting in ways that they believe may protect their populations," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The latest figures about deaths and infections in China contradict the official Chinese version, according to which only a few thousands of people report sick each day. Beijing had been accused of hiding the true status of the pandemic in the past as well.

According to the Guardian, Beijing had recently rolled out a nationwide crackdown on data, dismantling a network of PCR test sites.

Can China Flatten the Curve?

Researchers from the University of Macau and Harvard Medical School, had said earlier that if China fails to implement the "flatten the curve" strategy, as many as 1.27 billion people would be infected with the Covid-19 virus, resulting in the deaths of a whopping 1.5 million people in the next six months.

China's Covid-19 fight would revolve around two main strategies, according to the study. First, the country should make sure at least 90 percent of the population receive three doses of mRNA vaccines. Secondly, Chian should ensure that at least 75 percent of the people who are infected with the virus should have access to antiviral treatment Paxlovid.