CHINA reported its first two Covid-19 deaths in more than a year, said the National Health Commission today, as the country faces its worst case upsurge since the outset of the pandemic.

The deaths were the first reported in China since January 26, 2021. A total of 4,051 new Covid-19 cases were reported in the country today, down from 4,365 the day before.

The country where the virus emerged in late 2019 has largely kept it under control thanks to a combination of strict border controls, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns, and has not reported any coronavirus-related deaths for over a year.

But the highly transmissible Omicron is posing a stern challenge to that strategy, prompting authorities to close off cities – including the southern tech hub of Shenzhen, home to 17.5 million people.

The second-largest economy in the world has gone from reporting fewer than 100 daily infections just three weeks ago to well more than 1,000 daily for more than a week.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country will “stick with” its zero-Covid strategy, reported state TV.

He said the country should “continue to put people and life at the forefront, stick with scientific accuracy and dynamic-zero, and curb the spread of the epidemic as soon as possible”, according to CCTV.

Tens of millions of people are currently under stay-at-home orders across China to try and stamp out the latest outbreak.

Beijing’s communist leadership has made its handling of the pandemic a matter of political capital, saying the low death rate demonstrates the strength of its governance model.

Racing to tamp down outbreaks in multiple cities, Chinese officials have also moved to free up hospital beds over fears the virus can put a strain on the health system.

Jilin province – where the two deaths are reported, and which has reported thousands of cases over the past week – has built eight “makeshift hospitals” and two quarantine centres to stem the surge in infections.

State news outlets this week broadcast footage of dozens of giant cranes assembling temporary medical facilities in the province, which has only about 23,000 hospital beds for some 24 million residents.

Authorities said people with mild cases can isolate at central quarantine facilities, having previously sent all patients with any symptom to specialist hospitals.

The latest flare-ups have prompted long queues to form outside mass testing sites and seen tight controls at ports, raising fears of trade disruption. – AFP, March 19, 2022.