COVID-19 death toll in Shanghai rises to 87

The death toll in the latest COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai rose to 87 on Saturday after 39 new fatalities, a record daily high, were reported, a health official in the city said on Sunday.

The average age of those who have died is 81.1, with the eldest being 101, said Wang Xingpeng, director of the Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center, which manages and operates city-level public medical institutions in the city.

All cases suffered from serious underlying diseases, including advanced-stage malignant tumor, severe cardiovascular diseases, nervous system disease, late-stage liver cirrhosis, diabetes, and uremia. The severe underlying diseases were contributing factors in the cause of their deaths, he said at a municipal press briefing on Sunday.

Only five of these individuals were vaccinated, according to the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission.

Shanghai registered 1,401 locally transmitted COVID-19 confirmed cases and 19,657 asymptomatic infections on Saturday. Only 44 confirmed cases and 236 asymptomatic infections were found through screening individuals deemed to have risk of being exposed to the virus.

As of Sunday, there were 160 severely ill COVID cases and another 19 in critical condition in Shanghai.