Shanghai reports 3 Covid-19 deaths in latest Covid outbreak, over 22,000 cases

China’s financial capital, Shanghai for the first time reported deaths due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Chinese city, which has been under a strict lockdown, reported on April 17, 2022, that three people have died due to COVID-19.

All three people were of advanced age and had underlying medical conditions. They were brought to the hospital before their conditions deteriorated and died after all efforts to revive them proved ineffective, the city announced.

Shanghai residents are currently under a three-tier lockdown with those in “control” areas not allowed to come out of their homes. Authorities in Shanghai introduced the three-tier disease control system last week, which allowed residents in areas where no cases have been reported for 14 days to leave their homes as long as they follow health protocols.

The strict lockdown has led to protests, which are a rare thing in China. Shanghai posted 22,248 new cases on Monday, of which 2,417 were symptomatic, according to the municipal health commission.

The city will conduct another round of mass testing, which means the strict lockdown will continue into a fourth week for most residents. It has conducted more than 200 million nucleic acid tests since March 10 in an attempt to restrain China’s biggest COVID-19 outbreak since the coronavirus was first discovered in Wuhan in late 2019.

According to the city officials, only 38 per cent of over-60s in Shanghai are fully vaccinated. These latest deaths have taken the overall COVID-19-related deaths in Mainland China to 4,641, an official toll much smaller than many other countries.

Meanwhile, Delhi is also reporting a surge in the number of COVID 19 cases as the country reports 2,183 fresh COVID-19 cases on April 18. The health department is on alert as the new cases indicate a 90 per cent jump in the last 24 hours.