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On April 22, the major financial hub of Shanghai reported 12 new COVID-19-related deaths, up from 11 the previous day, as residents’ frustrations boiled over amid a harsh lockdown and strict online censorship. The city, which is dealing with China’s largest coronavirus outbreak to date, recorded 20,634 new local asymptomatic infections on Friday, up from 15,698 the day before. According to official data, the total number of new individuals diagnosed reached 2,736, up from 1,931 on April 21. According to the Shanghai government, the patients who died had an average age of 88. All of them had underlying medical conditions, and none had been immunised.
“One strategy that needs to be implemented right away is to increase rates of booster vaccination dose to the elderly and other vulnerable groups, and to see if mRNA vaccines can be used,” said Jaya Dantas, an Australian public health expert at the Curtin School of Population Health who is monitoring the Shanghai outbreak.
China has yet to develop its own mRNA vaccines and has chosen not to import those developed elsewhere.
According to a study published on Friday by China’s Disease Prevention and Control Center, medical experts in the northeastern city of Jilin, the site of another recent outbreak, said China’s vaccines have been effective thus far, though new emerging COVID-19 variants remain unpredictable.
According to them, “the data is strong enough to indicate the public significance of the full and booster vaccination strategy, particularly for the elderly population.”
MOUNTING REQUIREMENTS
Though frustrations remained high in Shanghai’s quarantined residential compounds, local officials insist that there will be no relief until all new cases outside of quarantine areas have been cleared.
“The more critical the period becomes, the more we need to grit our teeth and focus our strength,” Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng was quoted as saying late Friday on the city’s official government WeChat channel.
On Friday, the number of cases outside confinement areas stood at 218, down from 250 the day before.
The city-wide lockdown in Shanghai began in early April, though many residents have been restricted to their homes for much longer.
However, even after being shut down for more than 30 days, some compounds are still trying to report new cases, casting doubt on China’s approach.
“This is a significant amount of time, and it has mental health consequences: people are exhausted and frustrated,” Dantas said.
