China reports 1st coronavirus deaths in more than a year

Battling its worst Covid-19 outbreak in two years, China reported its first virus fatalities in over a year on Saturday.

Two patients died in the northeastern Jilin province, raising the country’s coronavirus death toll to 4,638, the National Health Commission said in a daily update.

The fatalities, China’s first since January 2021, come as authorities scramble to curb a surge in infections driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Jilin, a province home to more than 21 million people, has been the hardest hit in the latest wave of infections.

Of the 2,157 community transmission cases recorded throughout China over the past day, 1,674 were in Jilin, where authorities have enforced a strict lockdown and movement curbs.

China has pushed ahead with its “zero-Covid” strategy of stringent lockdowns and mass testing in a bid to stamp out the growing new wave.

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Authorities have reacted with force as daily figures climbed to a level not seen since the very beginning of the pandemic, with infections reported in 28 of the country’s 31 provinces in the past week.

Several cities, including Shanghai and Shenzhen, are under strict lockdowns, forcing local and international manufacturers to suspend operations.

In Jilin, five temporary hospitals with a capacity to treat nearly 23,000 patients have been set up and millions of testing kits were purchased, while around 7,000 soldiers and 1,200 volunteers have been mobilised to assist in implementation of anti-virus measures, according to local media.

Several officials have also been sacked over the lax response to the new outbreak, state-run Global Times reported earlier this week.