China confirmed a rise in the number of coronavirus or COVID-19 cases on Saturday as the authorities try to head towards a second wave of the virus outbreak, particularly due to the imported and asymptomatic cases, with the curbs on cities and travel are getting lifted.
The National Health Commission mentioned that 46 new cases were reported on Friday that included 42 travellers from abroad, the numbers are up from 42 cases that was recorded a day earlier. In their statement the commission mentioned that 34 new asymptomatic cases also got reported, that was down from 47 the previous day.
Imported cases registered in China
Mainland China's tally of infections now stands at 81,953. The death toll rose by three to 3,339. Tough curbs imposed since January helped rein in infections sharply from the height of the pandemic in February. But policymakers fear a second wave triggered by arrivals from overseas or asymptomatic patients.
Northeastern Heilongjiang recently reported a spike in new cases because of Chinese nationals entering the province from Russia, which has seen a surge of cases. Provincial health officials said it had 22 new imported cases on Friday, all Chinese nationals coming from Russia, and one new local case, in its capital of Harbin. Inner Mongolia had a daily tally of 27 new imported cases by Saturday morning, all from Russia, the region's health authority said.
The central province of Hubei, where the virus emerged late last year, reported no new cases for a seventh successive day. Since the epidemic broke out in the provincial capital of Wuhan, it has spread around the world, infecting 1.6 million people and killing more than 100,000.
(With agency inputs)
