- Beijing abruptly loosened its draconian zero-Covid approach last month
- But a spike in cases quickly overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums
- Now officials are finally starting to admit to the high number of cases, while experts in the West have suggested the country could see 9,000 daily deaths
Chinese officials have admitted that the country’s total number of Covid-related deaths is ‘huge’, with one doctor saying as many as 70 percent of Shanghai’s 25 million residents may have been infected.
The steep rise in infections came after Beijing’s hardline ‘zero-Covid’ approach was abruptly ended last month, quickly overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums.
In a rare admission, health officials said on TV that the country was seeing an increase ‘in the critical cases or the fatalities’. However, in an attempt to play down the situation, they claimed that the surge was in line with other countries.
Beijing also criticised nations that now require Chinese passengers to show a negative Covid test before entering – that include the UK and the US – warning it could take ‘countermeasures’ in response.