China recorded 61 new cases of coronavirus today, the highest daily number since April, driven by groups in three separate regions that have raised fears of a new wave.
Most of 57 new domestic cases were found in the far northwest region of Xinjiang, according to the National Health Commission, where a sudden outbreak occurred in the regional capital of Urumqi in mid-July.
Fourteen domestic cases were also reported in the northeast province of Liaoning, where a new group erupted in Dalian City last week.
Two other local cases were found in the neighboring Jilin province near the border with North Korea, the first since the end of May.
The last four infections confirmed on Monday were imported from abroad.
It is the highest daily number of new virus cases since April 14, when 89 cases were registered, mostly imported.
Chinese authorities have implemented massive tests for hundreds of thousands of people in the port city of Dalian.
A second wave of mass testing was also launched in Urumqi, in Xinjiang, on Sunday to detect residents who had previously given false negative results, the state-administered Global Times reported after a mass testing effort at earlier this month.
More than 2.3 million people in the city of 3.5 million have been evaluated so far, according to a local press conference on Friday.
The outbreaks occur when the Chinese Super League soccer tournament started its season, long overdue, on Saturday.
Residential communities in both Dalian and Urumqi have been blocked, and authorities declared a “mode of war” to combat the virus.
Experts have yet to confirm the origin of the recent Xinjiang group, which has infected 178 people to date.
The new infections in Jilin were announced just days after President Xi Jinping concluded an inspection tour of the province last week.
The area announced four new asymptomatic cases on Sunday, after evaluating travelers returning from Dalian.
Another 302 asymptomatic cases in China are under medical observation, health authorities said Monday, and there are currently 331 people sick with Covid-19 across the country, 21 in serious condition.
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