Shanghai announced on Monday three deaths from coronavirus covid-19the first deaths since the Chinese megacity began a prolonged confinement that has generated anger and protests.
“All three people deteriorated after being admitted to hospital and died after efforts to revive them proved ineffective,” the council said on social media.
The dead are two women aged 89 and 91 and a 91-year-old man. according to the local government, which indicated that they all had health problems such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Shanghaithe largest city in China with 25 million inhabitants, faces a confinement since March with the worst outbreak of covid-19 in the country since the start of the pandemic.
The business center reported 22,248 new local cases on Monday, of which 2,417 were symptomatic, according to the municipal health commission.
The level of infections is relatively low compared to other outbreaks in the world, but it reflects a trend in recent weeks, with tens of thousands of cases a day, most of them asymptomatic.
Even so, the authorities insisted on maintaining the policy of zero tolerance for the virus, with restrictions on the movement and isolation of infected people, even if they do not present symptoms.
The inhabitants of Shanghaione of the richest and most cosmopolitan cities in Chinahave complained about the restrictions due to the lack of food, the inadequate conditions in the quarantine centers and the drastic application of the measures.
Social media users criticized authorities for filming the death of a dog at the hands of health workers because its owners tested positive for the coronavirus. and by the policy of separating infected children from their parents, although this measure has been eased.
In a sign of the discontent, videos posted online showed some villagers arguing with police in protective suits who ordered them to give up their homes to infected patients.
Other videos have shown the desperation of the villagers, some of whom crossed the barricades to demand food.
Chinawhere it was first detected coronavirus by the end of 2019, it had reduced infections to a minimum thanks to its zero covid policy with mass testing, travel restrictions and targeted lockdowns.
But the world’s most populous country has recently struggled to contain outbreaks in several cities following the emergence of the contagious omicron variant.
The last time China reported new deaths from covid was on March 19 when two people died in the northeastern city of Jilin, which were the first in the country in more than a year.