On Feb. 24, 2021, scientists at the University of Oxford reported that overall deaths did not increase in China outside Wuhan city during the first three months of the COVID-19 outbreak, with the small increase in deaths from COVID-19 more than offset by fewer deaths from other causes.

A study involving researchers from the University of Oxford and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention examined the change in overall and cause-specific death rates during the three months of the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020. The results were published in The BMJ.