China reports massive rise in COVID death toll after WHO criticized it for undercounting. Why is China hiding its numbers? 

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Weeks after the international community slammed it for underreporting its Covid death toll, China reported a massive boost in its death numbers. On January 14, the Asian giant said it had recorded nearly 60,000 casualties from coronavirus. 

This huge number is just from the one month since China abolished its notorious “zero Covid” policy. However, drawing out this number from Beijing hasn’t been easy. 

As CoinChapter earlier reported, the United States and several countries in Europe, Asia, and Oceania imposed travel restrictions on Chinese travelers in 2023. The decision came amid worrying reports that the country had seen a fresh surge in Covid cases and virus-related deaths. 

Meanwhile, Communist Party supremo Xi Jinping’s Government undercounted these fatalities. Instead, his government reported very negligible numbers, drawing the anger of the international community. A part of the mounting criticism came from the World Health Organization (WHO). 

In December 2022, WHO accused the world’s most populous country of underreporting “the true death toll associated with COVID.” 

However, the latest data is the first time China has caved in and provided official numbers since the latest outbreak. Meanwhile, officials in Beijing maintain they did not hide any numbers. Instead, they argue that they could not release these numbers for objective reasons. 

“We organized experts to conduct a systematic analysis on the death cases, so it took a long time,” 

Jiao Yahui, an official with China’s National Health Commission said.  

Until the recent numbers, Xi Jinping’s Government had reported a little over 5,000 Covid-related deaths since the pandemic began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.

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WHO welcomes the reporting. Some still unsure of the numbers

Since China published its fresh numbers for the death toll, the World Health Organization (WHO) has welcomed the report. However, the United Nations agency responsible for international public health still had its reservations. 

While a massive improvement from its previous numbers, WHO officials hope China will continue cooperating with them. 

“WHO welcomes data on COVID19 in China, shared in call between Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (WHO Director-General) and Minister Ma Xiaowei of China’s National Health Commission… WHO requested that this type of detailed information continue to be shared with WHO & the public,“

the agency said. 

However, it will be foolish to blindly trust China. Not only could it still be hiding the real figures, but this newfound honesty also may not last. 

The Communist regime has every reason to hide death tolls. Following the prolonged Zero Covid policy, people would have hoped that it had eradicated the disease in toto. However, once it lifted the repressive measures, its incompetence was out for all to see. 

Xi Jinping does not want to take the blame or responsibility for his Government’s ill-preparedness. As CoinChapter earlier reported, his third term so far has been a complete failure. He has seen massive protests by citizens demanding his resignation. The Chinese economy is in shambles as a result of his misrule. In Essene, China has kept its citizens under lockdown for nothing. Countries without strict Covid policies are doing better than China, which tortured its citizens only to let them die of Covid now.

However, despite all attempts to brush death tolls under the carpet, modern technology and social media helped get the word out. Any future attempts will not only cause more public anger but will also receive a stronger global response by the international community.