The balance sheet climbs in Shanghai, Beijing on alert because of the Covid-19
In recent weeks, China has been facing its worst outbreak in two years. In Shanghai, the death toll rose to 87 on Sunday.
Almost all of the 25 million in the economic capital Shanghai are confined.
AFP
The toll of containment in Shanghai rose to 87 dead on Sunday, while the city of Beijing called for “action without delay” following a rebound in positive cases of Covid-19 in the Chinese capital.
China, which has been facing its worst epidemic outbreak in two years in recent weeks, has since the beginning of April confined almost all of the 25 million in its economic capital Shanghai, the epicenter of the contagion. The metropolis announced on Sunday the death of 39 people due to Covid, bringing the total number since the start of Shanghai’s confinement to at least 87.
Since the start of the epidemic, initially detected in central China at the end of 2019, the country has managed to limit the total toll to less than 5,000 deaths and less than 200,000 contaminations, if we stick to the official figures, much lower than international counts.
“The situation is serious”
But the Omicron variant hit the inhabitants of Shanghai hard, placed under confinement for an indefinite period, in sometimes Spartan conditions. The low mortality is a concern, especially since vaccination rates are low among the oldest.
The 39 deaths concern elderly people suffering from pathologies such as hypertension, the authorities said. Despite strict confinement, nearly 22,000 new positive cases were also recorded on Sunday in Shanghai. China’s largest city has totaled nearly half a million cases since early March.
More than a thousand kilometers away, the capital Beijing has also reported 22 cases and warned that “urgent” action is needed to stop the contagion. “The situation is serious, the whole city must act without delay,” Beijing health official Pang Xinghuo told reporters on Saturday, noting that the virus has probably spread “invisibly” in recent days.
Posted today at 04:42
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