Nearly 60,000 Covid-related deaths have been reported in China.

Following complaints that the government was withholding information about the status of the pandemic, China on Saturday reported nearly 60,000 deaths in people who had COVID-19 since early December.

The death toll included 54,435 fatalities from other illnesses when Covid-19 was combined with other illnesses and 5,503 deaths from respiratory failure brought on by Covid-19. According to the National Health Commission, those fatalities happened in hospitals, but it’s possible that more people also passed away at home.

According to the report, the official death toll from Covid-19 in China would increase to 10,775. On January 8, the official toll was 5,272.

Early in December, the Chinese government stopped disclosing information on Covid-19 infections and fatalities after abruptly relaxing anti-virus controls.

A surge in infections prompted the World Health Organization and other governments to request more information from Beijing.