China reports 2 more COVID-19 deaths

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country, China announced two more deaths due to the virus on Monday.

Two fresh deaths due to the coronavirus were reported in the capital Beijing, the Chinese daily Global Times reported.

China reported the first death, of an 87-year-old man who died of sepsis triggered by a serious lung infection, in the past six months on Saturday. However, the health authorities released the information on Sunday. This was the country's first recorded fatality from the virus since May 26.

National Health Commission said on Monday that a woman, 91, and a man, 88, "who were diagnosed with mild COVID-19 symptoms but with severe underlying diseases,” died at Beijing Ditan Hospital on Sunday.

Since the first cases were reported in December 2019, China has reported 286,197 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5,229 deaths.

The number of cases increased due to the spread of highly contagious sub-variants. In the last five days, the number of daily cases has surpassed 20,000.

Although the number of cases is minimal in comparison to the population, and the majority of them display no symptoms, China continues to execute severe pandemic control measures.