Seven more deaths due to Covid-19 in China's Shanghai, total rises to 10

China registered new seven deaths due to Covid-19 in Shanghai on Tuesday, a surge in the count of the thousands of cases gripped in Covid-19 new variant while in a week-long lockdown. 

Following the city authority, the first death due to the virus was reported on Monday. The total now stands at 10, despite the scale of the outbreak. 

Beijing claims that its zero-Covid policy of tight lockdowns, mass testing, and lengthy quarantines has prevented deaths and public health disasters in much of the world.

However, many have questioned the data by the officials, citing the country's population and poor vaccination rate. On Sunday, Shanghai health officials reported that nearly two-thirds of its adults over the age of 60 had received two Covid vaccines, with just about 40 per cent receiving a booster.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has reported 9,000 deaths due to Covid-19 since the Omicron variant surged in January. 

On Tuesday, following the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, the seven victims, aged 60 to 101 years old, had underlying medical issues such as heart disease and diabetes.

The commission stated that the patients were severely ill after admission to the hospital and died after inadequate rescue measures, with the immediate cause of death being underlying conditions. The country also reported 20,000 new Covid-19 cases; the majority are asymptomatic.

Since March, Shanghai's 25 million people have been confined to their homes as daily caseloads have surpassed 25,000, a modest number by international standards but nearly unheard of in China.

Food shortages, spartan quarantine conditions, and heavy-handed enforcement have inundated social media, with footage of rare protests flowing quicker than the government can delete it.

After the virus first appeared in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, the country's zero-tolerance attitude to Covid had limited new cases to an approach. 

However, in recent weeks, the officials have scrambled to contain cases spanning multiple regions, driven mainly by the fast-spreading Omicron variant. 

Also Read: India reports 1,247 fresh COVID cases, witnesses 43% drop from Monday

Also Read: Shanghai reports three deaths due to COVID-19 since latest lockdown

Also Read: Omicron increases risk of Upper Airway Infections among children, leading to cardiac arrest: Study

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• Beijing
• China
• Coronavirus
• Covid-19
• Shanghai