Authorities in the Chinese city of Shanghai announced on Monday that three people have died from COVID19: two women, aged 89 and 91, and a man, aged 91. The three are the first to die from the disease since the city went under a very tough lockdown in late March, causing serious inconvenience and widespread popular discontent.
Also read: Dissatisfaction with the lockdown is growing in Shanghai
In the city of 24 million people, 320,000 people have been infected so far in the last wave. The decision to impose a lockdown comes as a result of the Chinese authorities’ “zero Covid” strategy, which envisages the complete closure of the most populous cities even when the number of cases is relatively low, in order to prevent further spread of the contagion.
Shanghai has entered its third week of full lockdown, having already introduced some partial restrictions in early March: although measures have been partially relaxed in some parts of the city for a few days, it is currently unknown by when the lockdown will come into effect. However, the situation appears to be quite critical and the extension of restrictions has already sparked some protests.