China reports three dead in latest Covid outbreak

China has reported the deaths of three people from Covid in Shanghai for the first time since the financial hub entered lockdown in late March.

A release from the city health commission said the victims were aged between 89 and 91 and unvaccinated.

Shanghai officials said only 38% of residents over 60 are fully vaccinated.

The city is now due to enter another round of mass testing, which means a strict lockdown will continue into a fourth week for most residents.

Until now, China had maintained that no-one died of Covid in the city – a claim that has increasingly come into question.

Monday’s deaths were also the first Covid-linked fatalities to be officially acknowledged by authorities in the entire country since March 2020.