First deaths reported in Shanghai since lockdown

China said yesterday that three people have died from Covid-19 in Shanghai after a gruelling lockdown began last month, despite recording hundreds of thousands of cases of the fast-spreading Omicron variant in the eastern mega-city.

The authorities said the first deaths from China's biggest outbreak since the virus wave in Wuhan over two years ago were three elderly people aged 89 to 91, all of whom had underlying health issues.

Beijing insists that its zero-Covid-19 policy of hard lockdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines has curbed fatalities and helped it avoid the public health crises that have engulfed much of the rest of the world.

But some have cast doubt on official figures in a nation with low vaccination rates among its vast elderly population.