China reports lowest daily rise in COVID-19 cases in more than two weeks

SHANGHAI:China recorded its lowest daily increase in COVID-19 cases in more than two weeks, official data showed on Wednesday, suggesting aggressive measures implemented to curb a resurgence of the disease are working.

The National Health Commission said 75 new confirmed cases were reported on Jan. 26, down from 82 a day earlier, and the lowest single-day rise since Jan. 11.

Fifty-five of the new cases were local transmission, with the remaining 20 classified as imported cases.

More than half the locally transmitted cases were reported in the northeastern Heilongjiang province. Fourteen cases were reported in neighbouring Jilin province, seven in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, and four in the capital itself.

Authorities across the country have rolled out measures including home quarantine, travel curbs and mass testing in a bid to contain the disease ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in February, when hundreds of millions of people usually travel.

Government officials have repeatedly urged people to refrain from taking unnecessary trips and stay put during the holiday break. Those who press on with their trips must present a negative COVID-19 nucleic acid test result taken seven days before returning home.

New asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 61 from 57 a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mainland China now stands at 89,272. The death toll remains at 4,636.