China Reports First Covid Deaths Since Jan 2021, To Stick To Zero Case Approach

The latest surge in Covid cases over the last few weeks was a two-year high in the country as China logged 4,000 new cases, including 1,823 asymptomatic ones, on Friday

China Reports First Covid Deaths Since Jan 2021, To Stick To Zero Case Approach (File Image)

New Delhi: Amid the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in China, the country on Saturday reported two fatalities, the first since January 2021.

According to the National Health Commission of China, two deaths were reported taking the toll since December 2019 to 4,638.

The latest surge in Covid cases over the last few weeks was a two-year high in the country as China logged 4,000 new cases, including 1,823 asymptomatic ones, on Friday, out of which 18,586 are undergoing treatment, the Commission said in its daily bulletin.  

The virus has been prevalent in 15 provincial-level regions while Covid cases continue to remain high in Jilin, which reported 1,674 fresh cases on Saturday.

Amid the surge, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has asked the health officials to ramp up measures to contain the spread of the virus.

Sun stressed on those who need to be hospitalised or isolated should be done so to check community transmission and work must be done to optimise the process of detection, diagnosis, review and information reporting.

She also called for efforts to balance nucleic acid testing resources across the regions and improve emergency response capacity, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, with the massive spike in Covid cases, the authorities have ruled out any relaxation on the dynamic ‘zero-Covid’ policy that restricts international travel and minimises contacts with the outside world.

Addressing the media on Friday, Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission and administrator of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration said that China will adhere to its "dynamic zero-COVID" policy to contain its current outbreak.

The goal of the 'Zero case policy' is to bring the pandemic under control in the shortest possible time with minimum cost to society, official media here quoted him as saying.

The essence of this policy is swift response and targeted prevention and control, he added.

"The 'dynamic zero' policy does have some impact on life and work," Wang said, adding, "But considering people's safety and health, the sacrifices will be worth it."

Under this policy, China has drastically cut international travel which has affected lakhs of foreign students, including over 23,000 Indians, mostly studying medicine, who are stuck in India following the cancellation of visas and flights.

It is to be noted that China has pledged rigorous and targeted Covid-19 prevention and control measures to contain the latest wave of infections driven by the Omicron variant, Wang further said.