China reports first two COVID-19 deaths in more than a year

China reported its first two COVID-19 deaths in more than a year, the National Health Commission said Saturday, both coming in the northeastern province of Jilin as the country faces its worst case upsurge since the pandemic’s outset.

The deaths were the first reported in China since January 26, 2021. In all, China reported 4,051 new cases on Saturday, down from 4,365 the day before, AFP reported.

The country where the virus emerged in late 2019 has largely kept it under control thanks to a combination of strict border controls, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns, and has not reported any coronavirus-related deaths for over a year.

But the highly transmissible omicron variant is posing a stern challenge to that strategy, prompting authorities to close off cities including the southern tech hub of Shenzhen, home to 17.5 million people.

The world’s second-largest economy has gone from reporting under 100 daily infections just three weeks ago to well more than 1,000 per day for over a week.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday the country will “stick with” its zero-COVID strategy, state TV reported.

Speaking at a meeting of China’s top leaders, Xi said the country should “continue to put people and life at the forefront, stick with scientific accuracy and dynamic-zero, and curb the spread of the epidemic as soon as possible,” according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Tens of millions of people are currently under stay at home orders across China to try and stamp out the latest outbreak.

Beijing’s communist leadership has made its handling of the pandemic a matter of political capital, saying the low death rate demonstrates the strength of its governance model.

Racing to tamp down outbreaks in multiple cities, Chinese officials have also moved to free up hospital beds over fears the virus could put the health system under strain.

Jilin province — which has reported thousands of cases over the past week — has built eight “makeshift hospitals” and two quarantine centers to stem the surge in infections.