Nearly 60,000 people have died of Covid in China in past five weeks

A patient is wheeled into a fever clinic at a hospital in Beijing, China. Photograph: Andy Wong/AP

Almost 60,000 people have died of Covid in Chinese hospitals since early December when the country relaxed its strict lockdown restrictions, authorities have announced.

A major wave of the virus has gripped the country after President Xi Jinping abruptly lifted zero-Covid policy restrictions last month. It is estimated that some major cities have experienced infection rates of between 70% and 90% of their populations since then.