China records first COVID-19 death in 8 months

China has recorded its first COVID-19 death in eight months.

According to data by Worldometer, global statistics platform, China recorded over 1,000 deaths within a few days in April — the toll increased from 3,342 on April 14 to 4,632 on April 19.

The fatality toll increased again to 4,634 on May 17, 2020, and remained so till January 13, 2021 when the most recent death was recorded.

An update by the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, on Thursday, showed that one new COVID-19 death was confirmed on Wednesday.

“On Jan 13, 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps on the Chinese mainland reported 138 new cases of confirmed infections (14 imported cases, 8 in Shanghai municipality, 3 in Guangdong province, 1 in Beijing municipality, 1 in Henan province and 1 in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region; 124 indigenous cases, 81 in Hebei province and 43 in Heilongjiang province), no new cases of suspected infections, and 1 death (an indigenous case in Hebei),” it reads.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, the new death is reported to have been a female who “suffered from underlying ailment”.

With the latest death, 4,635 people have now died from the virus in China.

Meanwhile, China has imposed another lockdown in a bid to curb a fresh outbreak, following concerns of a new wave of infections.

The development comes as a team of scientists from the World Health Organisation (WHO) arrived in Wuhan on Thursday, to investigate the origin of COVID-19.

Since the first recorded case in Wuhan, China, almost two million people around the world are reported to have died from COVID-19.