China’s coronavirus case numbers spike following first COVID-related death in six months

China has recorded another surge in new COVID-19 infections a day after recording its first COVID-related death in six months. 

On Monday, China's National Health Commission reported 27,095 new COVID-19 cases and two new deaths, bringing the country's death toll to 5,229. 

A day earlier, the country reported 24,435 new cases and its first COVID-related death since May 26, an 87-year-old Beijing man. 

The commission did not give details on the vaccination status of the 87-year-old man.

While China has an overall vaccination rate of more than 92 per cent having received at least one dose, that number is considerably lower among the elderly — particularly those over age 80 — where it falls to just 65 per cent.

That vulnerability is considered one reason why China has mostly kept its borders closed and is sticking with its rigid "zero-COVID" policy that seeks to wipe out infections through lockdowns, quarantines, case tracing and mass testing, despite rising public anger at authorities.

China says its tough approach has paid off in much lower numbers of cases and deaths than in other countries, such as the US.

With a population of 1.4 billion, China has officially reported just 288,562 cases since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

That compares to 98.3 million cases and 1 million deaths for the US, with its population of 331.9 million, since the virus first appeared there in 2020.

China's figures have come under question, however, based on the ruling Communist Party's long-established reputation for manipulating statistics, the lack of outside scrutiny and a highly subjective criteria for determining cause of death.

Unlike in other countries, the deaths of patients who presented COVID-19 symptoms were often attributed to underlying conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, obscuring the real number of deaths from the virus and almost certainly leading to an under count.

As COVID cases continued to rise, local authorities in the Baiyun District of the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou locked down the area for five days from November 21 to November 25.

In Beijing, residents have been told not to travel between city districts, and large numbers of restaurants, shops, malls, office buildings and apartment blocks have been closed or isolated.

Local and international schools in urban districts of the city of 21 million have been moved online.

On Monday, Beijing reported 962 new cases, up from 621 cases the previous day, .

Financial hub Shanghai reported 39 new cases, the same number as the day prior. 

While local authorities in Guangzhou reported 8,181 new cases on Monday, compared with 8,434 cases on Sunday.