China reports two Covid deaths in more than a year

Shanghai/Beijing, March 19

China reported its first Covid-19 deaths in more than a year on Saturday, according to a post on the National Health Commission’s website that said two people died in the northeastern region of Jilin. China reported only two Covid deaths for all of 2021, the last of those on January 25. The country is maintaining a “dynamic clearance” approach which aims to cut transmission as soon as possible.

Jilin, bordering North Korea and Russia, accounts for more than two-thirds of domestic infections.

One victim was 87 and the other was 65, according to The Paper, a Shanghai state-run publication.

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. — Reuters