FILE - A worker takes a swab sample for a COVID-19 test at a mobile testing site on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in Beijing. China's national health authorities reported two COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, the first recorded rise in the death toll since January 2021, as the country battles an omicron-driven surge. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
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BEIJING (AP) - China's health authorities reported two COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, 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.
Both fatalities occurred in elderly patients and were the result of their underlying conditions, Jiao Yahui, an official with the National Health Commission, told a news briefing on Saturday. One of them had not been vaccinated for COVID-19, she said.
The majority of new 2,157 community transmissions reported Saturday came from Jilin. The province has imposed a travel ban, with people needing permission from police to travel across borders.
Nationwide, China has reported more than 29,000 confirmed cases since the beginning of March.
It has pressed on with its tried-and-true policy of lockdowns and mass testing of millions of people as part of a successful, if burdensome, 'œzero-COVID'ť strategy since the initial outbreak in Wuhan in 2019.
The country has seen relatively few infections from the virus so far because clusters are tamped down as quickly as they're discovered. The strategy has received popular support and prevented the large numbers of deaths seen in other countries, many of which have started to forgo any kind of social distancing measures.
Faced with the worst surge since late 2019, officials have vowed to double down on the zero-tolerance strategy to contain multiple outbreaks across China. However, leader Xi Jinping acknowledged for the first time the burden of the measures on Thursday, saying that China should seek 'œmaximum effect'ť with 'œminimum cost'ť in controlling the virus.
Hong Kong, which is facing its worst surge of the pandemic, recorded 16,583 new cases Saturday. The city's total coronavirus infections exceeded 1 million on Friday, and its number of deaths has already surpassed mainland China's.
Mainland China's COVID-19 data is counted separately from Hong Kong, a special administrative region.
A man arrives to receive a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center at the Kowloon Mosque And Islamic Centre in Hong Kong, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Hong Kong's cumulative coronavirus infections have exceeded 1 million as the city grapples with a widespread outbreak that has killed more people than the reported COVID-19 deaths in all of mainland China. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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A man leaves after receiving a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center at the Kowloon Mosque And Islamic Centre in Hong Kong, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Hong Kong's cumulative coronavirus infections have exceeded 1 million as the city grapples with a widespread outbreak that has killed more people than the reported COVID-19 deaths in all of mainland China. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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Workers protective gear stand at a community vaccination center at the Kowloon Mosque And Islamic Centre in Hong Kong, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Hong Kong's cumulative coronavirus infections have exceeded 1 million as the city grapples with a widespread outbreak that has killed more people than the reported COVID-19 deaths in all of mainland China. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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A man arrives to receive a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center at the Kowloon Mosque And Islamic Centre in Hong Kong, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Hong Kong's cumulative coronavirus infections have exceeded 1 million as the city grapples with a widespread outbreak that has killed more people than the reported COVID-19 deaths in all of mainland China. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
The Associated Press
A man receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center at the Kowloon Mosque And Islamic Centre in Hong Kong, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Hong Kong's cumulative coronavirus infections have exceeded 1 million as the city grapples with a widespread outbreak that has killed more people than the reported COVID-19 deaths in all of mainland China. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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Workers wearing protective gear wait to administer doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center at the Kowloon Mosque And Islamic Centre, in Hong Kong, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Hong Kong's cumulative coronavirus infections have exceeded 1 million as the city grapples with a widespread outbreak that has killed more people than the reported COVID-19 deaths in all of mainland China. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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A family leave after receiving doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center at the Kowloon Mosque And Islamic Centre in Hong Kong, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Hong Kong's cumulative coronavirus infections have exceeded 1 million as the city grapples with a widespread outbreak that has killed more people than the reported COVID-19 deaths in all of mainland China. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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Workers in protective gear help a couple to receive their doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center at the Kowloon Mosque And Islamic Centre in Hong Kong, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Hong Kong's cumulative coronavirus infections have exceeded 1 million as the city grapples with a widespread outbreak that has killed more people than the reported COVID-19 deaths in all of mainland China. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
The Associated Press
Two women arrive to receive doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center at the Kowloon Mosque And Islamic Centre in Hong Kong, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Hong Kong's cumulative coronavirus infections have exceeded 1 million as the city grapples with a widespread outbreak that has killed more people than the reported COVID-19 deaths in all of mainland China. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
The Associated Press
Workers in protective gear stand in a community vaccination center at the Kowloon Mosque And Islamic Centre in Hong Kong, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Hong Kong's cumulative coronavirus infections have exceeded 1 million as the city grapples with a widespread outbreak that has killed more people than the reported COVID-19 deaths in all of mainland China. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
The Associated Press