Shanghai announced Monday that three individuals had died from COVID-19, the first official death toll from an outbreak that has paralyzed the megacity for weeks, eliciting widespread outrage and rare protests.

Since March, a patchwork of restrictions has confined most of the city's 25 million citizens to their homes or complexes, with daily caseloads often exceeding 25,000.

On Monday, local officials announced the first deaths — all of whom were old and had pre-existing ailments.

They "deteriorated into severe cases following admission to the hospital and died after all attempts to resuscitate them failed," the city stated on its official social media account.

According to the statement, two of the deceased were ladies in their eighties and nineties, while the third was a 91-year-old man.

The city health commission confirmed the deaths.

According to the city health commission, Monday, the eastern business hub reported 22,248 new domestic cases.

While the data are low compared to other global outbreaks, they continue a trend that has seen the city report tens of thousands of daily cases, most asymptomatic.

As a result, authorities have reaffirmed Beijing's long-standing zero-tolerance policy toward the virus, vowing to maintain onerous travel restrictions and isolation of everyone who tests positive – even if they exhibit no disease symptoms.

Residents of Shanghai, one of China's wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities, have complained about food shortages, spartan quarantine conditions, and zealous enforcement.

Social media users criticized authorities for the videotaped murder of a pet corgi by a health worker and a now-softened policy of isolating diseased youngsters from their virus-free parents.

Last week's videos showed residents scuffling with hazmat-suited police asking them to relinquish their homes to patients, providing a rare peek into the unhappiness.

Other footage and audio snippets reflect growing desperation, with some showing people busting past barricades in a desperate attempt to obtain food.

Despite the backlash, China, which discovered the coronavirus in late 2019, is adhering to its tried-and-true zero-COVID-19 policy of mass testing, travel restrictions, and targeted lockdowns.

However, the world's most populous country has recently struggled to suppress outbreaks in several locations, primarily due to the rapidly spreading Omicron form.

On March 19, the country announced two additional COVID-19 deaths – the first in more than a year – in the northeastern rustbelt province of Jilin.