The major financial hub of Shanghai in China has reported 12 new Covid-19 related deaths, up from 11 the previous day, as frustrations among residents continue to boil over amid a harsh lockdown.
The city, battling China's biggest coronavirus outbreak so far, recorded 20,634 new local asymptomatic infections yesterday, rebounding from 15,698 a day earlier.
Total new symptomatic cases reached 2,736, up from 1,931 on April 21, official data showed. The patients who died had an average age of 88, all had underlying health conditions and none had been vaccinated, the Shanghai government said.
China has yet to introduce its own mRNA vaccines, and has chosen not to import those developed overseas. Though frustrations continued to bubble over in Shanghai's sealed off residential compounds, local officials maintain there will be no relaxation until new cases outside of quarantine areas have all 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 on Shanghai's official government WeChat channel.