China reports nearly 60,000 COVID deaths in the past month

At a press conference on Saturday, Jiao Yahui, the head of China’s Bureau of Medical Administration, announced that there had been 59,938 COVID-related deaths in medical institutions between December 8 and January 12.
She said China divides COVID-related deaths into two categories; those from respiratory failure due to coronavirus infection and those from underlying conditions coupled with infection.
She further stated, “the standard is basically in line with those adopted by the World Health Organization and other major countries.”
On January 11, WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, claimed China was underreporting its COVID deaths. Chinese officials countered this claim, stating they have “no reason” to hide or under-report COVID deaths.
On Saturday, following China’s release of the updated numbers, the WHO chief spoke to Ma Xiaowei, the director of China’s National Health Commission. In a statement released after the phone call, the WHO said it appreciated the public release of information on the overall COVID situation in China.