China reports first Covid deaths in six months as Beijing cases rise
China reported the deaths of three people in Beijing over the weekend as its first fatalities from Covid-19 in six months, with cases rising despite a stringent zero-Covid policy.
China is the last major economy still welded to a no-tolerance policy on the virus and has enforced snap lockdowns, mass testing and quarantines even as the rest of the world adjusts to living with Covid.
The first death, which officials announced on Sunday, was of an 87year-old man. Beijing reported 962 new infections on Monday, up from 621 a day earlier.
The National Health Commission said on Sunday it had recorded 26,824 local infections across the nation in the previous 24 hours, nearing April’s peaks.
Students in schools across several Beijing districts buckled down for online classes on Monday after officials called for residents in some of its hardest-hit areas to stay home.
While China’s Covid tallies are low compared with most other countries, the latest announcements follow a recent uptick in cases after months of few infections being reported.
The announcements also come after Beijing declared its most significant easing of coronavirus measures to date on 11 November, including reduced compulsory quarantine times for international arrivals.
Days later, multiple Chinese cities cancelled mass Covid testing, raising hopes of an eventual reopening.
But the relaxation of some measures has not marked a reversal of the zero-Covid policy, which has left China internationally isolated, wreaked havoc on the economy and sparked protests in a country where dissent is routinely crushed.
In another sign that China’s reopening may yet be waylaid, Beijing officials repeated their call to residents to avoid “non-imperative” travel between districts to avoid spreading the virus.
Some of Beijing’s largest shopping malls were closed on Sunday, while others reduced opening hours or banned table service at restaurants.
Several offices in the business and diplomatic hub of Chaoyang district asked companies to tell their employees to work from home. Some parks and gyms have also closed.
Share markets across Asia fell on Monday in response to the fresh Covid restrictions in Beijing. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell almost 2%, in what investors saw as a setback to hopes for an early easing in strict pandemic rules.
The number of cases “is seeing a significant rise”, Beijing municipality spokesperson Xu Hejian said on Sunday. “The situation of epidemic prevention and control in the capital is grim.”
In the southern manufacturing hub of Guangzhou, more than 8,000 new daily cases were reported on Sunday, prompting officials to launch a general Covid screening in the central district of Haizhu that is home to about 1.8 million people and lock down the Baiyun district for five days.
Guangzhou was the scene of furious protests and clashes with police last week over a renewed lockdown.