China announced on Saturday at least 60,000 hospital deaths linked to the Covid-19 pandemic since the country lifted medical restrictions a month ago, AFP reported.

“A total of 59,938 (deaths) were recorded between December 8, 2022 and January 12, 2023,” health spokesman Jiao Yahui told reporters.

This figure does not take into account deaths outside medical facilities.

Nearly 90 percent of residents of Henan, one of China’s most populous provinces, have been infected with Covid-19, a regional health official said, as China grapples with an unprecedented explosion of positive coronavirus cases, AFP reported.

WHO accuses China of not reporting real numbers and recommends testing Chinese passengers / China responds

The World Health Organization (WHO) has criticized China’s new “too narrow” definition of Covid-19-related deaths, saying Beijing’s figures “do not adequately reflect” the scale of the epidemic, AFP reports.

“The current figures released by China underestimate the true impact of the disease in terms of hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions and especially deaths,” Michael Ryan, WHO’s chief specialist in health emergencies, told a news conference.

China has strongly defended its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic after the World Health Organization accused Beijing of underreporting the true number of deaths caused by the coronavirus, Reuters reported.

After three years of imposing some of the world’s most draconian restrictions, China suddenly lifted most of its coronavirus medical measures last month. Then the number of patients increased exponentially, while the health care system was overwhelmed with elderly patients and crematoria were overwhelmed by the influx of deaths.

Despite the return of the epidemic, China on Sunday canceled the mandatory quarantine for people arriving in the country from abroad. However, a PCR test is still required and tourist visas are suspended.

The countries of the world are beginning to isolate themselves from China again

Experts explain the situation with the low natural immunity of the Chinese population as a result of repeated lockdowns and the questionable effectiveness of domestic vaccines against COVID-19.

Several countries, including the United States and a number of European Union member states, have reintroduced mandatory COVID-19 testing for travelers arriving from China in recent days amid the explosive spread of the coronavirus.

Beijing condemned the actions, warning that it could resort to “countermeasures” in response.