Kazakhstan rejects Chinese warning over pneumonia outbreak

MOSCOW (AP) — Kazakhstan’s health officials have dismissed a Chinese claim that the Central Asian country is facing an outbreak of pneumonia more deadly than coronavirus. The Kazakh denial follows a notice from the Chinese embassy Thursday that warned its citizens about an outbreak of pneumonia in the ex-Soviet nation with a death rate higher than that from coronavirus-induced pneumonia. Kazakhstan’s Health Ministry said that “this information doesn’t conform to reality.” It noted that the country’s statistics on pneumonia include patients who tested negative for the coronavirus but had symptoms compatible with COVID-19.