Three unvaccinated elderly people with pre-existing conditions died in the latest outbreak of Covid 19 in Shanghai.
On Monday, Shanghai reported its first deaths in the latest outbreak of Covid 19 in the city. Shanghai is one of the most populous and economically vibrant cities in China. The three individuals who reportedly died due to Covid were senior citizens who had various other pre-existing conditions like diabetes. These individuals had not taken the vaccine against Covid 19.
“After entering the hospital, their conditions grew worse and they died after attempts to save them were unsuccessful,” said Wu Ganyu, Health Commissioner of the city. As per official records, 4641 people have died due to Covid 19 since the virus was first detected in 2019 December.
China has a great vaccination rate of 90%, however, the vaccination rate among the elderly remains low. Of the people above the age of 60 years in Shanghai, only a little more than half have taken vaccinations. The latest variant of Covid 19 -omicron BA.2 is highly contagious. The variant however is not as lethal as the other variants.
The extremely low death rates for a highly populated country like China which was at the heart of the Covid 19 pandemic, is raising questions about how the government counts its fatalities. China has a “zero tolerance ” strategy toward Covid 19. The country has been taking extreme measures and imposing lockdowns in areas where the Covid outbreak is found. One of China’s
biggest cities, Shanghai has been under lockdown for the past three weeks due to a new outbreak of Covid 19.
A large part of the people who have tested positive for covid 19 in the last 24 hours were from Shanghai. This is despite the lockdown imposed in the city. The residents of the city are struggling to buy food and other necessities. The city was not ready for the lockdown that was imposed and as a result, is facing shortages of daily commodities. A lot of people from the city have been put under quarantine or medical observation in poorly maintained and highly crowded facilities. There is rising concern about the economic impact of the hardline policy that the government is taking.
Published by: Gargi Sharma
Edited by: Aaradhana Singh
