China has kept its COVID-19 death toll at a little over 5000, 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. Similar warnings have been circulated on Chinese social media. 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 death even if the virus worsened their health condition, as per the news report.

SK Bioscience Co Ltd chief executive Jaeyong Ahn said in a Financial Times interview that it is unlikely that the vaccine maker can supply COVID-19 vaccines to China amid its recent outbreak due to Beijing’s “national pride”.

Ahn said that it was “unrealistic” to supply COVID vaccines to China, as the country insists on using its domestic vaccines, the newspaper quoted him as saying.

China has kept its COVID-19 death toll at a little over 5000, 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. Similar warnings have been circulated on Chinese social media. A group chat conversation has asked doctors to not list the COVID-19 virus as the cause of death, as per the NTD report.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Israel in 2022 reached 2.7 million, according to an annual report issued by the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics.

The figure represents a 6.8-fold increase, compared to 396,500 foreign tourists who visited Israel in 2021, when the country imposed entry restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vaccinated and recovered tourists were allowed to enter Israel in January 2022. Two months later, Israel opened its borders to all tourists.

Serum Institute of India chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla on Sunday said its Covovax vaccine will get approval as a booster in the next 10 to 15 days, adding it works very well against the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event at Bharti Vidyapeeth University here, Poonawalla, when asked about states and districts not getting Covishield vaccines, said there are ample stocks with the Union government for supply.