China reported its first COVID-19 death in eight months on Thursday.
The death late Wednesday during an increase in cases in Shijiazhuang city was the first report from officials in Beijing since May.
Although the victim was not identified, she was already seriously ill with an unspecified underlying illness, the state-run agency Xinhua News said.
The news sparked panic. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the hashtag “New virus death in Hebei” received 270 million views on the Chinese social media platform Weibo on Thursday.
“I haven’t seen the words ‘virus death’ for so long, it’s a bit shocking! I hope the epidemic can pass soon, ”wrote one user, said AFP.
Despite China being the epicenter of the pandemic’s initial outbreak, the latest death toll this week brings the country’s initial fatalities to just 4,635.
So far, there have been fewer than 100,000 confirmed cases in more than a year – with nearly 80 other countries now reporting more, data from Johns Hopkins University shows.
China claims to have largely controlled the coronavirus through strict lockdowns and mass testing – although it has also been accused of hiding data to hide its true toll.
More than 20 million people are incarcerated to varying degrees in Hebei, Beijing and other areas in hopes of preventing infections in the run-up to next month’s Lunar New Year holiday.
The death was announced when a global team of World Health Organization (WHO) scientists finally arrived in Wuhan, the Chinese city where COVID-19 was first discovered, to investigate its origins.
However, two of the 15-person teams were refused entry after testing positive for antibodies against the coronavirus before leaving Singapore. said the WHO. They are retested in the hope of continuing the journey.
The rest of the team arrived at Wuhan Airport and walked through a makeshift clear plastic tunnel into the airport. The researchers, wearing face masks, were greeted by airport personnel in full protective gear, including masks, goggles, and full body suits.
They will undergo a two-week quarantine, but will “Start their work immediately” by partnering with Chinese experts through quarantined video conferencing.
It is not clear whether they will visit the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the lab that US officials have suggested could be where the contamination came from.
With pole wires