The three people reported Monday were two women aged 89 and 91 and a 91-year-old man who also had underlying health problems and was reportedly unvaccinated. Shanghai city officials said the three were admitted to hospital and became seriously ill. They died on Sunday “after all efforts were made to save them”. As of April 5, more than 92 million Chinese over the age of 65, including 20.2 million over the age of 80, have not been fully vaccinated. An outbreak of the Omicron variant in the Chinese city of more than 24 million people has infected at least 320,000 people since March. It is the worst outbreak in China since the beginning of the pandemic, but despite the high number of cases, no deaths have been attributed to it. Media reports have revealed numerous deaths after being infected with Covid-19, especially among the elderly in nursing homes, but authorities have largely attributed them to the underlying health complaints and did not count them as pandemic deaths. At a news conference Monday, Wu Qianyu, chief inspector of the Municipal Health Committee, said the immediate cause of death of the three people was their underlying illnesses, suggesting that authorities had significantly changed the way they attributed Covid-19 deaths. . Shanghai authorities reported 22,248 cases on Sunday, including 19,831 asymptomatic. Of the total cases, 1,414 were identified outside of quarantine and isolation facilities – where all positive cases should be sent, except those requiring hospitalization. The city has suggested that it consider reducing the outbreak when there are no new outbreaks outside buildings or quarantine areas. Reuters reported on Monday that authorities had set a goal of stopping the virus from spreading outside the quarantine and isolation system by Wednesday, which would allow the restrictions to be eased. There has been widespread unrest among Shanghai residents complaining about food shortages and excessive zeal to enforce restrictions, with businesses citing significant barriers to production and supply. It has sparked rare mass online complaints and some protests. While most cases are still reported in Shanghai, there are multiple cases across China. On Friday, the northwestern city of Xian announced a four-day period of restrictions on the movement of its 13 million inhabitants, including the closure of entertainment venues and restaurants, and bans on some means of transportation leaving the city. Xian was also the site of long-term blockades in December in response to an outbreak of the Delta variant. In Suining, Jiangsin Province, authorities conducted mass tests on nearly 900,000 workers and suspended trains. On Sunday, Jilin County lifted the lockdown, but urged it to remain vigilant and advised residents to make sure they had enough supplies available for a month if needed for a future lockdown. Additional references by Xiaoqian Zhu and Chi Hui Lin
