China's Daily COVID-19 Incidence Hits Record High of Over 31,500 Cases, Says Health Authority

BEIJING, (Sputnik) - China has recorded 31,656 new COVID-19 cases - the highest number of daily infected people since the beginning of the pandemic in 2019, the National Health Commission of China said on Thursday.

The commission said that it detected 31,656 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, of which 27,646 were asymptomatic. The largest number of cases were recorded in the southern province of Guangdong, as well as in the municipalities of Beijing and Chongqing.

The previous peak of COVID-19 incidence was recorded in China in mid-April when the daily increase in new infections exceeded 29,400.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, some 297,516 coronavirus cases have been recorded in mainland China, and 5,232 people have died from the virus.

On Thursday, a number of major cities of China tightened coronavirus-related restrictions amid a new hike in the incidence.

China has been adhering to the zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy since the beginning of the pandemic, which stipulates the introduction of strict control measures and the enforcement of lockdowns in districts and cities even with a relatively low incidence of the disease.

The epidemiological situation in China has been worsening in recent months due to numerous local outbreaks of COVID-19, prompting a number of cities, Shanghai included, to go into lockdowns and force people to undergo PCR testing daily.