China announced on Saturday it has seen at least 60,000 deaths linked to the COVID-19 pandemic since the country lifted health restrictions a month ago. “A total of 59,938 (deaths) were recorded between December 8, 2022 and January 12, 2023,” health authority official Jiao Yahui told reporters. This report does not take into account deaths recorded outside hospitals and other medical facilities. Among these deaths, 5,503 were caused directly by respiratory failure linked to Covid-19, the official added. After three years of some of the most draconian restrictions in the world, China abruptly l…