Geneva: China reported a substantial jump in COVID-19 hospitalisations in the week ending January 15, according to a weekly report published by World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO, however, said it awaited “detailed provincial data disaggregated by week of reporting” on nearly 60,000 additional COVID-related hospital deaths reported by China last week and did not include them in the tally, Reuters reported.
During the week in question, as many as 63,307 coronavirus-infected persons had to be hospitalised in China, according to the WHO report based on data submitted by Beijing. That represents a 70% increase in the number of hospitalisations in the country.
More significantly, it’s the highest weekly hospitalisations reported by China since COVID-19 first emerged in the country three years ago.
Last month, the Chinese government lifted its strict three-year zero-COVID regime of frequent testing, travel curbs and mass lockdowns following widespread protests in late November.
Cases have surged since then in the country which has a population of 1.4 billion.
WHO has maintained that China have been under-reporting the scale of outbreak and repeatedly sought more detailed data, including on deaths, excess mortality and genetic sequences.