The eastern Chinese metropolis of Shanghai today announced its first three deaths from COVID-19 since the confinement began on March 28 to tackle the worst wave of infections since the pandemic began.
According to the city’s health authorities in a statement, the deceased were people between 89 and 91 years of age with “underlying health problems” who had not been vaccinated against the COVID-19.
The low rate of inoculation among the elderly -one of the most vulnerable groups but also one of the most reluctant to be immunized- is one of the weak points of the Chinese strategy of zero tolerance against covid, which involves massive PCR campaigns, mobility restrictions and selective or general confinements in the cities where cases are detected.
In the case of Shanghaiof 26 million inhabitants, only 38% of residents over 60 years of age -2.18 million people- have been vaccinated with the full schedule in addition to a booster dose, the director of the municipal commission of local health, Wu Jinglei.
The announcement of the deaths comes after the city, which is entering its fourth week of confinement, has recorded more than 320,000 covid infections, most of them asymptomatic, since Beijing does not count them as confirmed cases unless they show symptoms. .
There are also 16 serious active cases in Shanghaimost of them unvaccinated elderly with pathologies such as “diabetes, cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases, malignant tumors and lung problems,” according to the Global Times newspaper.
In recent days, some voices had already shown their disbelief at the absence of deaths in this wave, which has reminded the case of Wuhan, the city that registered the first cases of covid at the end of 2019 and that remained confined for weeks, where local authorities revised the number of deaths upwards from 2,575 to 3,869 from one day to the next.
Outbreaks throughout China
The restrictions on Shanghai They officially began on March 28, although by then there were already residential buildings that had been completely isolated from the outside for weeks.
Despite the exhaustion of residents, who have reported food shortages or outright fear of ending up in isolation centers, the authorities remain adamant in their strategy, alleging that “ómicron is not a flu” and that it could cause hundreds of deaths. and a hypothetical health collapse.
With the intention of “cleaning cases” Shanghaithe metropolis will carry out a new round of massive tests for confined residents, as announced by local authorities today, with daily tests until the next day 21 for those who live in buildings in which positives are detected.
while in Shanghai 2,417 local cases were counted today, in addition to 19,831 asymptomatic, the number of infections continues without stabilizing in the rest of the country, with a constant trickle of positives in provinces such as Jilin (northeast, 166), Zhejiang (southeast, 34), Heilongjiang ( northeast, 30) and Guangzhou (south, 25).
“We must concentrate our resources on winning this battle to avoid a large-scale outbreak and consolidate the results already achieved,” said Ma Xiaowei, director of the National Health Commission of China, according to the local press.
But the confinements, whether total or partial as in the case of Xi’an, one of the last cities to decree quarantine, are already having an impact on the economy, with stoppages in factories and transport that have set off the alarms of industries such as technology. or the automobile. (EFE)
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