China reports small uptick in new COVID-19 cases

BEIJING: China reported 30 new COVID-19 cases on the mainland on Feb. 3, official data showed on Thursday, up slightly from 25 cases a day earlier but still well below the peaks seen at the height of the latest wave last month.

The National Health Commission said in a statement that 17 of the new cases were locally transmitted infections. Northeastern Jilin province reported eight new cases, while neighboring Heilongjiang province reported four and the city of Shanghai saw three new cases.

Hebei, the province surrounding Beijing, reported two new COVID-19 cases. The remaining 13 cases were imported infections that originated from overseas.

Aggressive curbs that included lockdowns, travel restrictions and mass testing appear to have prevented the latest wave of the disease from spreading throughout China, even as the country endured its worst period of COVID-19 infections since March 2020.

Local and national governments remain vigilant and continued to discourage travel during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday break that begins on Feb. 11. The number of travellers during the period, when hundreds of millions typically return home for family visits or go sightseeing, is expected to be down sharply this year amid heightened precautions.

New asymptomatic infections, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, stood at 12, same as a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed mainland COVID-19 cases now stands at 89,649, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,636.