COVID-19: Deaths of More and More Famous Chinese Alarms the Population

In China, the death of more and more famous people is being announced, prompting residents to question the previous data on mortality from COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, writes the BBC.

At the beginning of the week, Bloomberg wrote about the paralysis of the system in China due to the coronavirus, whose latest wave, according to local authorities, leads to hundreds of thousands (or even a million) infected per day in some provinces. Last month, the agency reported 37 million infections in one day at the national level.

More and more data indicate that hospitals and crematoriums are overcrowded. "In Shanghai, more than 200 taxi drivers are driving ambulances to meet the demand for emergency services," Reuters reported, citing the local Shanghai Morning Post.

China, meanwhile, stopped publishing data on cases and deaths, and only 24 deaths have been announced since December; of them on Thursday - only one. In total, since the beginning of the pandemic, their official number is only 5,264 people.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which in the course of the pandemic has been accused of being influenced by China (including by former US President Donald Trump), on Wednesday questioned the reliability of Beijing's statistics.

The sharp U-turn by Chinese authorities, who after a wave of demonstrations abandoned "zero COVID", lifted travel restrictions and other heavy-handed measures, could face a new clash with the West after the United States and a number of European countries began demanding tests of passengers arriving from China. A similar step is being introduced at the European level. Yesterday, Greece, Germany and Sweden joined the list of requiring tests from travelers from China.

Beijing insists its data is genuine and cooperates closely with the WHO, and warns of the risk of "political manipulation" posed by Western measures. In fact, the Asian giant continues to impose quarantine on arrivals from abroad, although it is preparing to lift it on Sunday (and replace it with a PCR test requirement). A little while ago, China's foreign ministry asked Europe to "objectively and fairly" evaluate the epidemic situation in the country.

The list is growing

British public media gave the example of Chu Lanlan, a 40-year-old opera singer whose death last month was announced as a "sudden passing".

On New Year's Eve, internet users reacted with alarm to the death of 83-year-old Gong Jingtang, star of the longest-running TV series in the country. Among the recently deceased are a journalist and screenwriter of a similar age. About the screenwriter, Nie Zheng, one of the Internet commenters said, "Did he also die of 'severe flu'?"

According to Chinese media, 16 scientists from leading science and engineering academies died between December 21 and 26 - again without mentioning COVID-19.

At the same time, there is criticism of the demonstrators who took to the streets in November to protest against the "zero COVID" policy - the strict restrictions with which China tried to isolate the virus and which experts partly explain the weak immunity of the population against the coronavirus. The BBC cited cases suggesting that those taking part in these demonstrations - followed by the sudden easing of restrictions - actually contributed to the deaths of the celebrities: "Are these people happy now, seeing the old people...prepare the ground for their freedom?"

China's official media, for its part, reacted angrily to Western policies. The People's Daily ("Zhenmin Zhibao"), the ruling Communist Party's newspaper, which also has an English edition, noted: "No matter how China decides to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, some Western media and Western politicians will never be satisfied."

At the same time, Europe and the region are anxiously watching the upcoming holidays: over 2.1 billion trips are expected forthe Chinese New Year.

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