Beijing: China officially reported on Monday its first COVID-related deaths since the government began dismantling strict anti-virus controls earlier this month, feeding anxiety that this could be the start of a grim trend as the virus rips through the country. Monday’s two deaths were the first to be reported by the National Health Commission (NHC) since Dec. 3, days before Beijing announced it was abandoning curbs which had largely kept the virus in check for three years but triggered widespread protests last month. Though on Saturday, a Reuters journalist in Beijing saw hearses bearing dead lining the driveway to a…