Stop listing Covid as cause of death: Chinese docs told

Elderly patients with Covid symptoms receive intravenous drips at the emergency ward of a hospital in Fuyang in central China’s Anhui province. Pic/PTI

China has kept its Covid-19 death toll at a little over 5,000, despite funeral homes across the country reportedly overflowing amid an increase in virus cases. Chinese doctors have been asked to avoid listing Covid-19 as a cause of death, NTD reported.

A doctor at a hospital in Beijing was asked to not report Covid-19 as the primary cause of death, NTD reported citing The New York Times. A group chat conversation has asked doctors to not list the Covid-19 virus as the cause of death, as per the NTD report.

In China, only those who die after respiratory failure caused by Covid-19 count as Covid-19 death. Covid-19 patients who die with pre-medical conditions do not count as Covid-19 deaths even if the virus worsened their health condition, as per the news report.

A doctor in Beijing said he and his colleagues found a typed note on a hospital desk in recent days. The note urged the doctors to "try not to write respiratory failure caused by Covid" as the primary cause of death, according to The New York Times.

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As per the news report, the doctors said it was not clear if the message was shared internally or if they received it from government officials. Warnings have been circulated on social media, urging doctors not to "carelessly write Covid" on the death certificates, according to The New York Times.

89% people in Henan infected with Covid-19
Almost 90 per cent people in China's third most populous province have now been infected with Covid-19, a top official said on Monday, as the country battles an unprecedented surge in cases. Kan Quancheng, director of the health commission for central Henan province, told a press conference that "as of January 6, 2023, the province's Covid infection rate is 89.0 per cent."

With a population of 99.4 million, the figures suggest about 88.5 million people in Henan may now have been infected. China is battling a surge in cases following its decision last month to lift years of lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing that had hammered its economy.

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