China’s senior officials declared a “decisive victory” over Covid-19, with the world’s lowest mortality rate. Although China recorded just over 80,000 Covid fatalities in hospitals in the two months after removing its limitations, experts have expressed questions about the integrity of Beijing’s figures due to tales of full hospitals and mortuaries. Because doctors were allegedly discouraged from reporting Covid as a cause of death and many patients died at home, many experts believe the true death toll was far higher. China’s highest leadership body, the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), has lauded the country for its “major decisive victory” in containing the pandemic. However, it has also warned that the virus is still spreading throughout the world and is constantly changing. The PSC has called for a rise in the immunization rate for seniors and the improvement of local medical care systems. The news breaks just before the annual session of China’s parliament when authorities will discuss how to restore an economy that has been severely harmed by three years of Covid restrictions.
