China reports 1st COVID-19 death in almost 6 months

Beijing, Nov 20: China has reported first COVID-19 death nearly in six months as it has imposed strict measures across the country to prevent the spread of the contagious disease.

A 87-year-old Beijing man died after getting infected with COVID-19 which is the first death in the country since May 26. Thus the death toll in the country reached 5,227 in Shanghai. However, it has not been revealed the vaccination status of the deceased.

China has an overall vaccination rate of over 92 per cent having received at least one dose. However, it is considerably lower among the elderly, particularly those over age 80.

As a result, it has imposed "zero-COVID" policy seeking to end the infection through lockdowns, quarantines, case tracing and mass testing, but it has impacted on normal life and the economy and rising public anger at the authorities.

Three years after the pandemic, Beijing has mostly kept its borders closed and discouraged travel even within the country. In the capital, residents were told not to travel between city districts, and large numbers of restaurants, shops, malls, office buildings and apartment blocks have been closed or isolated. China on Sunday announced 24,215 new cases, the vast majority of them asymptomatic.

Meanwhile, the central city of Zhengzhou it will no longer require a negative COVID-19 test from infants under age 3 and other "special groups" seeking health care. The announcement by the Zhengzhou city government came after a second child's death was blamed on overzealous anti-virus enforcement. The 4-month-old girl died after suffering vomiting and diarrhea while in quarantine at a hotel in Zhengzhou.

With inputs from PTI