In what's seen as second wave of coronavirus, China, on Sunday, 12 April recorded the highest number of positive cases since 5 March.
China observed a total of 108 new coronavirus cases - a rise from 99 positive cases on Sunday. The increase in COVID-19 positive cases took place as infected travelers arrived from overseas.
According to China's National Health Commission (NHC), out of 108 new COVID-19 cases, 98 were people returning from abroad. Two deaths were reported all in epicentre Hubei Province, taking the overall death toll to 3,341.
With the new increase in cases, the total number of cases in China has gone to 82,160 by Sunday.
As of Sunday, China had a total of 1,378 imported cases, of which 511 were discharged from hospitals after recovery and 867 were being treated with 38 in severe condition, the NHC said.
It also said that 61 new asymptomatic cases, including 12 from abroad, were reported, taking their tally to 1,064 cases, including 307 from abroad. They are all under medical observation.
Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested positive for the coronavirus but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. They are infectious and pose a risk of spreading to others.
Chinese officials say imported cases are on the rise as hundreds of people are returning to the country from various COVID-19 hotspots abroad, even though the deadly virus has been contained in epicentres of Hubei province and its capital Wuhan.
Experts said the number may increase further.
"The proportion of COVID-19 patients has been very high at between 10 per cent to 20 per cent in each batch of inbound personnel," said Yu Kaijiang, head of the local medical treatment team.
"The ratio in some batches was even higher," he said.
The novel coronavirus which originated from China in December has killed 114,185 people and infected over 1.8 million people globally. The US, so far, has the highest number of infections 556,044 and deaths over 20,000, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
(With inputs from PTI)
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