Deaths of three elderly people were reported in Shanghai, China. It is the first time since the financial hub entered lockdown in late March.

The victims were aged between 89 and 91, and they weren’t vaccinated.

According to officials, only 38% of residents over 60 are fully vaccinated.

The city is now going to enter another round of mass testing, with a strict lockdown for the sake of their safety.

Until now, China has claimed that no one has died of COVID in the city.

A statement that still remains a question.

These fatalities are the first COVID-linked deaths, since March 2020.

It happened to dozens of elderly patients at a single hospital in Shanghai, but they were not official COVID deaths, according to authorities.

The question remains a mystery if the death toll is revealed in order to scare the public regarding dangers of it.

Now that barely half of people above 60s are fully vaccinated.

The virus was warned by Shanghai authorities, or otherwise they wouldn’t lock down the entire city, if it hadn’t killed anyone officially.

Shanghai’s Health Commission announced the deaths, adding that all three of them died of underlying health conditions.

The lockdown has angered residents, as millions have been confined to their homes.

People who are tested positive are sent to the quarantine centers.

Recently, people have complained regarding the restrictions and lack of food supplies there.

There have been more than 200,000 new cases a day.

The city has turned exhibition halls and schools into quarantine centers.

Although the recent increase in cases in China is negligible in comparison to other nations, it poses a significant challenge to China’s “zero-COVID” strategy, which employs rapid lockdowns and harsh restrictions to contain any outbreak.

Milder nature of the new variant has led to question whether the current strategy is sustainable in the long run.