A projection by a US-based institute has claimed that China could see more than a million Covid-related fatalities if it were to stick with its decision to lift coronavirus regulations. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), said no one thought China would last as long as they did at zero-Covid. In the report, IHME claimed that by April 1, 2023, there would be 3,22,000 Covid deaths in the country.
According to the IHME, Beijing decided to lift the restrictions following the rise of the highly-infectious Omicron variant, which rendered China’s zero-coronavirus policy ineffective. Beijing decided to lift its strict Covid rules in December after public protests. Since the easing of rules, the country has been facing a surge in cases.
The IHME projection was based mostly on data and statistics from previous Omicron outbreaks in Hong Kong and vaccination information provided by the Chinese government. In a statement after the IHME’s estimates were released online, Murray said, “China has reported barely any deaths since the original Wuhan outbreak. This is why we used Hong Kong to estimate the death rate of the infection.” saw.”
Earlier on Friday, China’s National Health Commission announced that it was stepping up the vaccination process and increasing the stock of ventilators and essential medicines.