Daily COVID Tracker: Shanghai reports first deaths since lockdown

Shanghai has reported its first COVID deaths since its lockdown. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Monday.

Shanghai reports first COVID deaths since lockdown

Shanghai has reported three COVID deaths on Sunday, the first time during the lockdown that it reported deaths among COVID-19 patients.

The city reported 19,831 new daily asymptomatic COVID-19 cases on April 17, down from 21,582 on the previous day. New symptomatic cases stood at 2,417, down from 3,238.

The city has conducted more than 200 million nucleic acid tests since March 10 in a bid to curb China’s biggest COVID-19 outbreak since COVID-19 was first discovered.

Omicron-specific Sinopharm, Sinovac COVID vaccine candidates cleared for clinical trial

COVID-19 vaccines developed by a Sinopharm subsidiary and Sinovac Biotech to target the Omicron variant have been approved for clinical trials in Hong Kong.

The companies said the two vaccines contain inactivated or “killed” coronavirus and are similar to vaccines that the companies are supplying in China and overseas.

The Sinopharm candidates will be tested as boosters in adults who have already received two or three vaccine doses. It did not specify which vaccine products the trial participants would have received before taking the experimental booster.

Almost half of UK teachers had COVID in spring term, says survey

A new survey says half of UK teachers, many of them triple-jabbed, have tested positive for COVID-19 in the spring term.

About 48 percent of teachers polled by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) said they had tested positive during the spring term.

In addition, nearly 30 percent said their school had been forced to close or send home either classes or year groups because of an outbreak of COVID.

Shanghai sets target to end COVID outbreak

Shanghai has set a target to stop the spread of COVID-19 outside of quarantined areas by Wednesday, which would allow the city to further ease its lockdown and start returning to normal life as public frustrations grow.

Shanghai’s new target of “zero-COVID at the community level” by April 20 was communicated to the city’s communist party organisations such as schools.

The target will require officials to accelerate COVID testing and the transfer of positive cases to quarantine centres.

More Chinese cities tighten restrictions as Shanghai COVID cases rise

Other areas across China have tightened restrictions as Shanghai COVID-19 cases rise.

The Zhengzhou Airport economic zone, a central Chinese manufacturing area announced a 14-day lockdown on Friday “to be adjusted according to the epidemic situation”.

In northwestern China, the city of Xian on Friday asked residents to avoid unnecessary trips outside their residential compounds and encouraged companies to have employees work from home or live at their workplace.

Also, the city of Suzhou, near Shanghai, said on Saturday that all employees capable of working from home must do so, and residential compounds and company campuses should avoid unnecessary entry of people and vehicles.