China reports first COVID-19 deaths in weeks as official count questioned - CNA

The NHC reported 1,995 symptomatic infections for Dec 18, compared with 2,097 a day earlier.

But infection rates have also become an unreliable guide as far less mandatory PCR testing is being conducted following the recent easing. The NHC stopped reporting asymptomatic cases last week citing the testing drop.

China's stocks fell and the yuan eased against the dollar on Monday, as investors grew concerned that surging COVID-19 cases would further weigh on the world's second-largest economy despite pledges of government support.

The virus was also sweeping through trading floors in Beijing and spreading fast in the financial hub of Shanghai, with illness and absence thinning already light trade and forcing regulators to cancel a weekly meeting vetting public share sales.

Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp said on Monday it had suspended work at its Beijing plant due to COVID-19 infections.

A survey by World Economics showed on Monday China's business confidence fell in December to its lowest since January 2013. China's economy is expected to grow 3 per cent this year, its worst performance in nearly half a century.

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China's chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou on Saturday said the country was in the throes of the first of three COVID-19 waves expected this winter, which was more in line with what people said they are experiencing on the ground.

"I'd say 60 to 70 per cent of my colleagues ... are infected right now," Liu, a 37-year-old university canteen worker in Beijing, told Reuters, requesting to be identified by his surname.

Beijing city official Xu Hejian told reporters on Monday COVID-19 was spreading fast in the capital, putting pressure on medical resources. Still, more restrictions will be lifted, with previously-closed venues located underground, from bars to internet cafes, allowed to re-open, Xu said.

Xu made no comment on any fatalities.

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2022-12-19 10:12:21Z
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