China announced two additional deaths from Covid-19 on Sunday as some cities moved cautiously to ease restrictions to combat SARS-CoV-2, following increased protests against government measures related to the new coronavirus.
China’s National Health Commission said the deaths occurred in Shandong and Sichuan provinces. No information was provided on the age of the victims or whether they were fully vaccinated.
China announced 35,775 more cases in the last 24 hours, 31,607 of which were asymptomatic, bringing the total to 336,165, with 5,235 deaths.
China, where the virus was first detected in late 2019 in the central city of Wuhan, is the latest major country to try to completely stop transmission through quarantines, lockdowns and mass testing.
Analysts say concerns about vaccination rates figure prominently in the Communist Party’s determination to stick with its hardline strategy.
Nine out of 10 Chinese were vaccinated, yet only 66% of people older than 80 received a dose of the vaccine and 40% received a booster dose in this age group, according to the Commission.
The agency said that 86% of people over the age of 60 are vaccinated.
Given those numbers and the fact that relatively few Chinese have developed antibodies when exposed to the virus, there are fears that millions could die if the restrictions are lifted entirely.
However, the massive demonstrations appear to have prompted the authorities to lift some of the toughest restrictions, even as they say the “covid zero” strategy – which aims to isolate all infected people – is still in place.
The demonstrations, the largest and most widespread in decades, began on November 25 after a fire at an apartment building in the northwestern city of Urumqi killed at least 10 people.
That raised questions online about whether firefighters or victims trying to escape were blocked by locked doors or other antivirus checks. Authorities denied this, but the deaths became a focus of public frustration.
The country has seen several days of protests in cities including Shanghai and Beijing, with protesters demanding an easing of restrictions to combat covid-19. Some have demanded that Chinese President Xi Jinping step down, in an extraordinary display of public dissent in a society over which the Communist Party exercises near-total control.
Beijing and some other Chinese cities have announced that passengers can board buses and subways without a virus test for the first time in months. This requirement has prompted complaints from some Beijing residents that even though the city has closed many testing stations, most public places still require testing for Covid-19.
While many have questioned the accuracy of the Chinese figures, they remain relatively low compared to the United States and other nations that are now relaxing controls and trying to live with the virus that has killed at least 6.6 million people in everyone and infected. almost 650 million.
China still imposes mandatory quarantine for arriving travelers even if its infection numbers are low compared to its population of 1.4 billion.
Source: Observadora
