The corona virus continues to put pressure on China. The death toll in Shanghai rose to 87 on Sunday as Beijing called for “immediate action” following a rebound in positive Covid-19 cases in the Chinese capital.
China, which has faced its worst epidemic outbreak in two years in recent weeks, has locked down nearly all of the 25 million residents of its economic capital, Shanghai, the epicenter of the contagion, since early April. The metropolis on Sunday announced the deaths of 39 people due to Covid-19, bringing the total to at least 87 since confinement began.
A rather weak official record
Since the emergence of the coronavirus, first detected in central China in late 2019, the country has managed to limit the total number of victims to fewer than 5,000 dead and fewer than 200,000 infected, if we stick to official figures, which are well below the international figures lie . But the Omicron variant hit hard the residents of Shanghai, who were being held indefinitely in sometimes spartan conditions.
The low mortality rate is worrying, especially as vaccination rates among elders are low. The 39 deaths concern elderly people suffering from pathologies such as hypertension, the authorities said. And almost 22,000 new positive cases were also registered in Shanghai on Sunday. China’s largest city has recorded nearly half a million total cases since early March.
The capital Beijing, more than a thousand kilometers away, has also reported 22 cases and warned that “urgent” measures are needed to stop the contagion. “The situation is serious, the whole city must act immediately,” Beijing health official Pang Xinghuo said on Saturday, noting that the virus has likely spread “invisibly” in recent days.