China facing biggest daily Covid-19 case rise in more than 5 months

New infections in Hebei province surrounding Beijing continue to rise, contributing to mainland China facing its biggest overall daily increase in Covid-19 cases in more than five months, the country’s national health authority said on Monday.

Hebei accounted for 82 of the 85 new local infections reported on Sunday, the National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement, with Liaoning province also reporting two new cases and Beijing reporting one new case.

China also saw 18 new imported infections from overseas.

The total number of new cases stood at 103 on Monday, the highest since 127 cases were reported on July 30.

Though the new cases being reported in recent days remain a small fraction of what the country saw at the height of the outbreak in early 2020, authorities are moving aggressively to curb the spread of the disease and prevent another national wave of infections.

Shijiazhuang, Hebei’s capital and the epicentre of the new outbreak in the province, is in lockdown, with people and vehicles barred from leaving the city as authorities move to curb the spread of the disease. Public transport in the city has also been halted.

The city’s steps are in line with the usual package of restrictions local authorities in China implement when they see a cluster emerge.

Wangkui county, under the jurisdiction of Suihua city in Heilongjiang province, reported eight new asymptomatic cases and moved on Monday to close all non-essential businesses, banned people from leaving the city and blocked all non-essential traffic, state television reported.

Each family in the county can have only one person leave their home once every three days to buy necessities.

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in mainland China now stands at 87,536, while the death toll remains unchanged at 4,634.