China reports first COVID-19 deaths in more than a year

BEIJING (AP) — China’s health authorities have reported two COVID-19 deaths, the first since January 2021, as the country battles its worst outbreak in two years driven by a surge in the highly transmissible omicron variant. The deaths, both in northeastern Jilin province, bring the country’s coronavirus death toll to 4,638. An official with the National Health Commission says both fatalities occurred in elderly patients and were the result of their underlying conditions. One of them had not been vaccinated for COVID-19. The majority of new 2,157 cases came from Jilin. The province has imposed a travel ban, with people needing permission from police to travel across borders. China has pressed on with its policy of lockdowns and mass testing of millions of people.