China Coronavirus Deaths: The fatalities were the first reported in China since January 26, 2021, and bring the country’s total death toll in the pandemic to 4,638.
Beijing: China reported two Covid-19 deaths on Saturday, the first in more than a year, underscoring the threat of an omicron outbreak that has triggered the country’s highest number of cases since the pandemic began . The National Health Commission said both deaths occurred in Jilin, the northeast province hardest hit by a nationwide spike in cases that has prompted closures or strict restrictions in several cities.
The deaths were the first reported in mainland China since January 2021, bringing the total number of deaths from the pandemic in the country to 4,638. Overall, China reported 4,051 new cases on Saturday, down from 4,365 the day before, the health commission said, with more than half of new cases occurring in Jilin.
Beijing’s communist leadership has touted its low death rate compared to other countries as a testament to the strength of its one-party governance model. The two new deaths were buried in the Health Commission’s daily report, and the state-controlled media barely mentioned them. “Zero Covid” under pressure.
The coronavirus emerged in downtown Wuhan in late 2019, but China has largely brought it under control with strict border controls, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns. But the highly transmissible variant of Omicron poses a serious challenge to the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of the government’s “zero Covid” strategy.
In recent weeks, some official sources have hinted that China will eventually have to co-exist with Covid-19 like other countries are doing, while warning of the economic impact of mass shutdowns. President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that China would stick to its zero Covid strategy while allowing for a more “targeted” approach.
While full lockdowns were expected with every outbreak in the past, authorities across the country have responded to the recent spread of the virus with different measures.
Some cities have been locked down, including the southern technology hub of Shenzhen, home to 17.5 million people. But Shenzhen’s measures were partially relaxed following Xi’s comments. Shanghai, meanwhile, moved school education online and introduced mass testing, but avoided a full lockdown. Authorities also said people with mild cases could self-isolate at central quarantine facilities, having previously sent all symptomatic patients to specialist hospitals.
However, tens of millions of people across China remain under stay-at-home orders due to an outbreak that has seen new cases reported daily rise from less than 100 three weeks ago to several. thousands a day. Beijing has also watched nervously as Hong Kong struggles to contain an omicron outbreak that has claimed thousands of lives in the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city.
Officials in mainland China have also sought to free up hospital beds over fears the virus could strain the healthcare system. Jilin has built eight “makeshift hospitals” and two quarantine centers to contain the current boom. State news agencies this week released footage of dozens of giant cranes erecting makeshift medical facilities in Jilin, which has only about 23,000 hospital beds for about 24 million people.
Recent outbreaks have also prompted long queues to form outside mass testing sites across China and tight controls at ports, raising fears of trade disruption.
