China: 1st Local COVID-19 Case After 3 Days, Imported Cases Surge

NHC spokesman Mi Feng called for unswerving efforts in preventing the COVID-19 epidemic from rebounding.

In this 16 February, photo, a nurse prepares medicines at Jinyintan Hospital designated for new coronavirus infected patients in Wuhan. 

(Photo: AP)

China reported its first domestic coronavirus case after a gap of three days as the country saw a surge in imported infections with 45 new cases and initiated stricter measures to avert COVID-19 to resurface and create a second wave of infections, health officials said on Sunday, 22 March.

China's National Health Commission (NHC) said that 46 new confirmed cases were reported on the mainland on Saturday, including one domestic infection transmitted by imported cases in Guangzhou.

Six deaths were reported from China, including five from Hubei Province, taking the death toll in the country to 3,261.

Call for 'Unswerving Efforts' to Prevent Epidemic Rebound

Coronavirus epicentre Wuhan, however, has not reported a new coronavirus case for the fourth consecutive day, health officials said. The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 81,054 by the end of Saturday, including 3,261 people who died of the disease, 5,549 patients still being treated and 72,244 patients discharged after recovery.

On Saturday, 504 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 118 to 1,845.

The imported cases included 14 from Shanghai, 13 from Beijing, seven from Guangdong province, four from Fujian province and two from Jiangsu province, while the provinces of Hebei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Shandong and Sichuan reported one case each, taking the total number of infections from abroad to 314, the NHC said.

By the end of Saturday, 273 confirmed cases, including four deaths, were reported in Hong Kong, 18 confirmed cases in Macao and 153 in Taiwan, including two deaths.

Meanwhile, facing a sharp increase of COVID-19 cases from abroad, China will take strict measures to prevent imported cases, NHC spokesman Mi Feng told media on Saturday. He called for unswerving efforts in preventing the COVID-19 epidemic from rebounding.

Beijing and several other cities have already initiated stricter quarantine rules under which the people will be confined to designated hotels for which they have to pay. Beijing also started diverting flights to neighbouring cities where the foreign returnees would undergo a 14-day quarantine.