China announces first death in almost 6 mths

BEIJING: China on Sunday announced its first new death from Covid-19 in nearly half a year as strict new measures are imposed in Beijing and across the country to ward against new outbreaks.

The death of the 87-year-old Beijing man was the first reported by the National Health Commission since May 26, bringing the total death toll to 5,227. The previous death was reported in Shanghai, which underwent a major surge in cases over the summer.

While China has an overall vaccination rate of more than 92% having received at least one dose, that number is considerably lower among the elderly particularly those over age 80 where it falls to just 65%. The commission did not give details on the vaccination status of the latest deceased.

That vulnerability is considered one reason why China has mostly kept its borders closed and is sticking with its rigid “zero-Covid” policy that seeks to wipe out infections through lockdowns, quarantines, case tracing and mass testing, despite the impact on normal life and the economy and rising public anger at the authorities.

China says its tough approach has paid off in much lower numbers of cases and deaths than in other countries, such as the US.

With a population of 1.4 billion, China has officially reported just 286,197 cases since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. That compares to 98.3 million cases and 1 million deaths for the US, with its population of 331.9 million, since the virus first appeared there in 2020.