Beijing: India and the rest of the world are watching closely and taking precautions in the wake of a substantial surge in coronavirus infections in China and some other east Asian countries.
There has been no official data from the Health department on COVID-19 deaths, but according to estimates of UK-based experts, China is likely registering 9,000 deaths a day — double the number it had estimated last week.
According to health data firm Airfinity, COVID-related deaths in China since December 1 have possibly reached 100,000, while the number of cases is around 18.6 million.
The health firm has projected that China’s daily COVID-positive cases will be 3.7 million on January 13 while the daily death toll will peak to about 25,000 on January 23.
Beijing has officially reported only 10 deaths since December 7 with daily cases a few thousand.
World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged China to be more transparent with detailed data on the pandemic.
“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,” Ghebreyesus said.
China, however, insisted that the data it is publishing has always been transparent.
“China has always been publishing information on COVID-19 deaths and severe cases in the spirit of openness and transparency… China has always been committed to the scientific criteria for judging Covid-19 deaths, from beginning to end, which are in line with the international criteria,” said Jiao Yahui of National Health Commission (NHC).
