SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China reported eight new coronavirus cases in the mainland for Feb. 12, compared to 12 cases a day earlier, the health commission said on Saturday.
All of the new cases were imported infections, the National Health Commission said in a statement. New asymptomatic infections, which China does not classify as confirmed COVID-19 cases, rose to 14 from eight a day earlier.
China saw a major resurgence of the disease in January, when a cluster emerged in the northern province of Hebei, which surrounds Beijing.
The disease spread to northeastern Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces in the country’s worst outbreak since March, triggering an aggressive package of measures including lockdowns in the worst-hit areas to curb the spread of the virus.
But data from recent days adds to evidence that China was able to effectively stamp out the latest wave of infections and avoid another full-blown COVID-19 crisis heading into the current Lunar New Year holiday.
As of Feb. 12, mainland China had 89,756 confirmed coronavirus cases, the health authority said. The COVID-19 death toll remained at 4,636.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by William Mallard)
