Covid China: Elderly deaths contradict Shanghai figures

[Sherman A1]

Dozens of elderly patients at a hospital in Shanghai have died after contracting Covid-19, but official government figures claim no deaths in the city have been caused by the disease since 2020.

The BBC has spoken to a hospital manager and had access to correspondence sent to relatives of patients who've died during the Omicron outbreak that is sweeping through China's biggest city.

We've also had access to official documents that suggest at least 27 patients from a single hospital, who weren't vaccinated, have died from what it called "underlying health problems".

Shanghai is enforcing a mammoth lockdown as authorities try to contain a new wave of the virus. Most of the city's almost 25 million population have been ordered to stay inside for three weeks.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-61117738

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Nations that dwarf people by suppressing truth find that w small people no great thing can be done

... in the long run.

In the short run, sure. But in the long run honesty, diversity, democracy and justice strengthen nations and make them more competitive.

[JohnSJ]

2. What this highlights is why getting vaccinated is critical

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. From the very beginning I've thought that China

simply isn't reporting the cases and deaths there. For one thing, if you look at this: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

they apparently haven't done any new testing in months. And in the beginning there were stories of morgues and cemeteries being overwhelmed, which doesn't jibe with only 4638 people dying altogether. So while they can enforce things like isolation in a way that most countries can't, I'm willing to bet their cases and deaths are many magnitudes greater than they admit.

[Lucky Luciano]

4. Shanghai is fed up with zero Covid.

From a Shanghai expat who is in misery:

“…yep the cautious tale after this, which I am certain many many will perish, though numbers will be suppressed, is to repeatedly communicate Zero Covid to a highly propagandized society…folks believed. For many elderly, they believed it would never come, thus rational hesitancy on getting vaccinated - no perceived risk. There was even jingoistic rhetoric here how the mRNA vaccines were not safe, because they were not made here.

Still to this day, its an inhibitor to enter China on a work visa if you have a mRNA vaccine - the Sincovac/Sinopharm are the preferred jab due to their “superiority.” Though on all intl peer reviewed studies, the evidence shows the direct opposite. Looks like the pandemic will end in the place where it began, then a transition to endemicity. Of course after societal and economic pain that will be damaging here for many years to come just as the US, Europe and Latin America have endured.”