China has announced a big jump in the number of Covid related deaths in the country, with almost 60,000 deaths recorded since most restrictions were dropped late last year.

Beijing has faced criticism for allegedly under-reporting information regarding their largest ever COVID outbreak.

Authorities had been reporting five or fewer deaths a day over the past month – figures inconsistent with long queues seen at funeral homes and body bags seen leaving crowded hospitals.

In December, officials said they planned monthly, rather than daily updates.

While international health experts have predicted at least 1 million COVID-related deaths this year, China had previously reported just over 5,000 since the pandemic began, one of the lowest death rates in the world.