China’s virus death toll could actually be 17,000% higher than admitted in Covid cover up, claims analyst

CHINA’S coronavirus death toll could actually be a staggering 17,000 per cent higher than admitted in a shocking cover-up, an analyst has claimed.

It’s feared the country’s true Covid fatality figure is around the 1.7million mark opposed to the 4,636 reported by Chinese authorities – despite having the world’s strictest lockdown.

George Calhoun, director of the quantitative finance programme at Stevens Institute of Technology, has alleged the regime has likely recorded fewer deaths in a systematic data suppression in a bid to keep its political image untarnished.

The expert, who has studied data generated by a model developed by The Economist, claimed to The Epoch Times that China’s official figures are “statistically impossible”.

Since April 2020, when the majority of fatalities were reported in Wuhan, just two deaths have been officially recorded by authorities in Beijing – ranking China as having the fewest Covid related deaths in the world.

“That’s impossible. It’s medically impossible, it’s statistically impossible,” Mr Calhoun told the outlet.

“Remember, in 2020, there was no vaccine, there was no treatment. So you had an unprotected population that has shown zero Covid deaths, even though they’ve had tens of thousands of cases.”

More than 22,000 cases of Covid were reported in mainland China in that period, according to data from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre

But based on The Economist’s model, Mr Calhoun has claimed China’s official death toll is off by about 17,000 per cent.

It’s not the first time China has been accused of not reporting deaths.

A Chinese professor expelled from the Communist Party previously insisted the coronavirus death toll has been covered up.

Cai Xia, who taught at China’s elite Central Party School, cast doubt on President Xi Jinping and the country’s coronavirus statistics.

And those living in Wuhan – the virus’ original epicentre – also feared the death figures were being hidden at the start of the pandemic.

Those living in hard-hit Wuhan believed around 42,000 people had been killed by the airborne bug by March 2020 – compared to the 3,000 to 4,000 claimed by the state.

Locals pointed to the fact around 500 urns were being delivered to grieving families each day from seven funeral homes based in the massive city, in Hubei Province.

It comes as China continues to report soaring numbers of Covid cases.

‘ZERO TOLERANCE’

The country is desperately clinging on to its “zero tolerance” strategy with 13 million people banned from going outside – but fresh infections are continuing to rise.

It ended the final week of 2021 with the largest tally of local cases for any seven-day period since conquering the country’s first epidemic almost two years ago.

The National Health Commission reported 175 new community infections with confirmed symptoms on January 1, bringing the total number of local symptomatic cases in mainland China in the past week to 1,151.

The surge has been driven mostly by an outbreak in the northwestern industrial and tech hub of Xian.

It shows little sign of easing despite the city of 13 million people being plunged into lockdown with draconian restrictions.

Brutal measures include being banned from leaving home – even for essential reasons like buying food – as well as tight border controls and lengthy quarantines.

Residents are also being subjected to sweeping rounds of city-wide testing, while schools and businesses are shut down.

China has even constructed a network of massive quarantine camps where thousands face isolation in tiny metal boxes as part of the Communist Party’s ruthless and overblown “Zero Covid” strategy where one case is enough to spark a crackdown.

Massive sprawling complexes of simple metal cabins have been built to house those feared to have been exposed to the virus.about:blank

China has proudly shown off these facilities in stage-managed photo ops.

But various reports have emerged of citizens reportedly being bussed to these quarantine camps – with isolations periods of up to two weeks.

Footage emerging from Chinese social media shows a dystopian vision, with people held in the tiny boxes with have just a simple wooden bed and a toilet.

Other unverified videos show men in hazmat suits dishing out food to those held inside the facilities.