Topline
Shanghai on Monday reported the first deaths linked to the city’s ongoing Covid-19 outbreak—China’s worst since the start of the pandemic—as the continued rise in cases in eastern China and the country’s steadfast adherence to a zero-Covid approach saw more cities impose pandemic restrictions despite concerns of major economic disruption.
Medical staff from Zhejiang Quzhou Medical Team cooperate with volunteers to conduct nucleic acid … [+]
Key Facts
Three unvaccinated people aged between 89 and 91 succumbed to Covid on Sunday, local officials in Shanghai announced in a press briefing.
An additional 16 infected individuals remained in a critical condition, city officials added.
The Covid deaths in Shanghai are the first ones reported in China in nearly a month when two fatalities linked to the disease were reported in Jilin—which themselves were the country’s first Covid deaths since January 2021.
Last deaths of two people from the disease in Jilin last month—who were China’s first reported Covid deaths since January 2021.
According to China’s National Health Commission, Shanghai on Monday added 19,831 new asymptomatic cases and 2,417 to its overall tally.
Shanghai on Monday entered the fourth week of its ongoing Covid-19 lockdown—initially scheduled to be ten days long—with no definitive end in sight.
Big Number
4,641. That’s the total number of Covid-19 deaths that China has reported since the start of the pandemic. When adjusted for population size, China has one of the lowest pandemic death rates of any country—below 0.5 per 100,000 population. In comparison the United States has reported more than 300 deaths per 100,000.
Key Background
Shanghai has reported more than 300,000 Covid-19 cases since the start of the current outbreak in late March. While authorities began to loosen some curbs last week, most of the city continues to remain under lockdown. The stringent three week long lockdown has caused some anger and discontent among the city’s residents due to several issues like food shortages and stringent quarantine rules. The outbreak in Shanghai has been fueled by the highly infectious omicron subvariant known as BA.2 which appears to have blunted the effectiveness of China’s lockdown and mass testing efforts.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/04/18/shanghai-reports-first-covid-deaths-from-current-outbreak-as-case-counts-continue-to-remain-high/