20th March, 2022
Mainland China has reported two COVID-19 deaths in the northeastern region of Jilin, the first of such reports in more than a year, according to the National Health Commission.
China reported only two COVID deaths for all of 2021, the last of those on Jan. 25.
The country is maintaining a “dynamic clearance” approach which aims to cut transmission as soon as possible, using stringent measures such as short and targeted shutdowns and quick testing schemes where cases are found. read more
Jilin, bordering North Korea and Russia, accounts for more than two-thirds of domestic infections in the latest wave.
One of the dead was not vaccinated, said Jiao Yahui, a senior official with the National Health Commission.
The direct cause of death for both victims was underlying diseases, Jiao told reporters in Beijing, while their COVID symptoms were mild.
One victim was 87 and the other was 65, according to The Paper, a Shanghai state-run publication.
More than 95% of the nearly 30,000 people hospitalised with COVID in China have mild or no symptoms, Jiao said.
The latest deaths raised China’s cumulative toll to 4,638.
China reported 2,228 new confirmed coronavirus cases for Friday, down from 2,416 a day earlier.
Of the new cases, 2,157 were locally transmitted, compared with 2,388 a day earlier, with 78% appearing in Jilin.
Others were found in the southeastern province of Fujian, the southern province of Guangdong, and elsewhere.
New asymptomatic cases, which China counts separately from confirmed cases, totalled 1,823, compared with 1,904 a day earlier.
As of Friday, mainland China had a cumulative total of 128,462 confirmed cases.