Daily Local Infection Cases Of COVID-19 In China Print Highest Number In The Last Two Years Due To Omicron Variant

Illustration of a queue for a COVID-19 test in China. (Wikimedia Commons/Liuxingy)

JAKARTA - Mainland China recorded its highest number of daily new local symptomatic COVID-19 infections in about two years, as the highly contagious Omicron variant presses its strict policies to curb any outbreaks quickly.

China reported 214 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms on Sunday, data from the National Health Commission showed on Monday.

This figure marks the highest daily caseload since Chinese authorities began in early March 2020 to count infections found locally, with cases arriving from outside the mainland separately.

China's latest local spread of the virus is low by global standards, with the government sticking to a policy of 'dynamic cleaning' which requires local authorities, to quickly identify and quarantine any infections and their close contacts, impose travel restrictions to cut off the transmission.

The majority of Sunday's 214 local COVID-19 infections were found in Guangdong, Jilin, and Shandong provinces.

Meanwhile, the number of locally transmitted asymptomatic cases rose to 312 on Sunday, the highest daily number since China in late March 2020 classified asymptomatic infections separately from confirmed cases.

There were no new deaths, leaving the death toll unchanged at 4,636. As of March 6, China had reported 111,195 cases with confirmed symptoms, including local ones and those coming from outside the mainland.