Shanghai reports first Covid deaths since the start of its latest lockdowns

Shanghai, China’s largest city and the one hit hardest by the latest Covid outbreak, announced another round of mass virus testing that’s set to end Thursday, April 21.

The first Covid-related deaths were reported by the city of Shanghai on Monday.

The city said that three people have died due to health conditions. The official announcement said that all three people were elderly.

Beijing is trying to increase the number of older people getting Covid vaccinations. According to the National Health Commission, 224.8 million people over the age of 60 had been vaccined.

The country has more than 260 million people over the age of 60 according to a 2020 census. According to the health commission, 90.8% of the country's 1.41 billion people had been injected.

In Beijing, anyone over the age of 60 who gets the first Covid shot could receive a reward of up to $80.

The most recent Covid wave in China began in February and is the result of the highly transmissible omicron variant. Two deaths were reported in the northern province of Jilin on March 18.

There were 2,417 new confirmed Covid cases on Sunday.

In late March, the largest city in China began a two-stage lockdown and mass virus testing that was supposed to be over in a week. Municipal authorities have yet to set a date for when travel restrictions and stay- home orders will end.

The city said on Monday that it would begin another round of mass virus testing.

Outside of Shanghai, mainland China reported about 300 other new confirmed cases with symptoms on Sunday. Beijing reported three cases.