China could see nearly a million Covid deaths over the next year

Washington/Beijing: A report by a US think tank has warned that the number of Covid patients will explode across the country and almost one million people may die in 2023, following relaxation of the ‘Zero Covid Policy’ implemented by the ruling communist regime in China against the Coronavirus. While issuing this warning, the new report released by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) on Friday warns that April will see the biggest Covid outbreak in China. A few days ago, a Chinese researcher and a British think tank pointed out that if the ‘Zero Covid Policy’ is completely relaxed, more than two million people in China may die of Covid.

China decided to relax the ‘Zero Covid Policy’ earlier this month. After that, in the last ten days, its implementation has begun in most parts of China and most of the rules related to mass testing and quarantine have been relaxed. However, even as restrictions are being relaxed, it is being reported that the number of cases has started rising again in some cities, including the Chinese capital. There have been claims that hospitals and clinics in major cities, including the capital Beijing, are witnessing an increasing rush of patients. More than 50 serious Covid patients are receiving treatment in Beijing hospitals. Demand for fever and Covid drugs has increased tremendously in some cities, including Shanghai.

Social media and the media have claimed that the Chinese system is trying to hide the matter even though Covid victims are rising in some cities. According to a report by the British daily Financial Times, it has been claimed that more than 30 Covid patients have been buried in a cemetery in the capital Beijing. It is also said that there is no space left in some burial grounds and the bodies are kept outside. Against this background, the warning given by the US think tank becomes noteworthy.

A few days ago, the British group ‘Airfinity’ released a report on the Covid situation in China. It was said that if the Covid restrictions are relaxed, 1.3 to 2.1 million citizens of China will die. A Covid outbreak was reported in Hong Kong after the Covid restrictions were relaxed earlier this year. The British think tank has prepared its report on that basis. Earlier in May, in an article written by researchers from the United States and China in the research journal ‘Nature Medicine’, it was warned that 1.5 million people might die if the ‘Zero Covid Policy’ is completely relaxed.