China Confirms Change To Covid Death Definition As Doubts On Data Grow

Oleh Admin 27 Des, 2022 Posting Komentar

A makeshift fever clinic at the Beijing Stadium on Dec. 20.

(Bloomberg) -- China has confirmed that it has shed its definition of Covid deaths, adding weight to rumors that the shockingly low official numbers obscure the true picture of the chaos caused by the violence of the outbreak this month.

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Dr. Wang Guiqiang told reporters at a briefing to the National Health Commission in Beijing on Tuesday that the country will only count those infected with the virus and those who die from respiratory failure as those who die from the virus. He said people thought to have died from another disease or event such as heart failure, even if they had the virus at the time, were not classified as having died from the virus.

Previously, anyone who died while testing positive for Covid was considered to have died from Covid, regardless of the disease. And just last week, the NHC, China's top health watchdog, told Bloomberg News that the definition still stands.

Read more: Reports of Covid-19 deaths in China circulated in a black box of viral data.

Wang's statement confirms Caixin's report that the government quietly changed rules earlier this month to implement a narrower definition of Covid-19 after zero caused an explosion in infections.

But the rapid rise in cases has resulted in very few deaths, putting China at odds with the experience of other countries - Shanghai and Hong Kong - and raising fears that authorities are trying to hide the true death toll.

The wider country has reported more than 10 deaths since the start of the month, despite mounting media reports and social media posts showing overcrowding in morgues and funeral homes, particularly in the capital, Beijing.

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Dr. Wang of Peking University First Hospital said in a statement that the change in interpretation was due to the moderation of micron strain compared to water stress when the outbreak began. . losses.

"A few people have died from respiratory failure caused by COVID, and the most common cause of death is the underlying disease," Wang said. The new definition is now reflected in NHC documents, without explanation.

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Read more: China has reported two Covid deaths, but numbers vary

Other countries have a broader definition of what counts as a death from COVID. While health officials in some countries recognize that the virus may not be the definitive cause of death for someone living with HIV, most continue to include these deaths in their Covid death toll. Covid can cause other diseases, like blood clots, which can then cause things like heart attacks, and the virus can speed up death from other diseases.

The United States linked one death to Covid-19, with the infection a major cause and contributing factor. New Zealand records a Covid death of someone who died within 28 days of a positive test. Meanwhile, the UK will specify whether a death was due to Covid or simply VV as the underlying cause, but both types of deaths are still recorded as Covid in official statistics.

The shift in China means that the death toll is comparable not only to those in other countries, but also to those recorded in other phases of the epidemic. China has reported 5,242 official Covid deaths since the outbreak began.

(Updates on how other countries are reporting Covid deaths from the ninth paragraph.)