China’s National Health Commission announced the first two Covid-19 fatalities in more than a year on Saturday, both in the northeastern region of Jilin, as the country faced its greatest case spike since the epidemic began.
The deaths are the first in China since January 26, 2021, bringing the overall number of deaths in the epidemic to 4,638 in the nation.
According to the commission, China recorded 4,051 new cases on Saturday, down from 4,365 the day before.
Due to a mix of stringent border restrictions, extended quarantines, and targeted lockdowns, the country where the virus first surfaced in late 2019 has mostly kept it under control.