Tally of infections hits 56,000

The Chinese mainland reported more than 56,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in 28 provincial-level regions from March 1 to 24, a health official said on Friday, adding that the epidemic in some areas is still spreading.

Jilin province is the hardest-hit area with more than 29,000 cases reported during the period, Lei Zhenglong, deputy head of the Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control of the National Health Commission, said at a news conference.

The number of new infections in the province has exceeded 1,000 daily for several consecutive days, and the outbreaks in the city of Jilin and the provincial capital of Changchun are still rising, he said.

The outbreaks in Shanghai, and Hebei, Fujian and Liaoning provinces have been growing rapidly in recent days, and there is still a risk of transmission within communities, Lei said.

Qingdao, Weihai and Zibo cities in Shandong province, and the cities of Shenzhen and Dongguan in Guangdong provinces have initially contained the local outbreaks, while the situation in Beijing, Chongqing and Zhejiang province have been stabilized, he added.

Lei said pandemic control is still complex and all regions affected should strictly implement prevention measures and curb transmission as soon as possible.