Domestic COVID-19 cases see steep fall in China

ISTANBUL

China is witnessing a sharp fall in locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, with only 41 infections reported on Tuesday in an apparent success breaking the local transmission in the country.

It was first time since at least Dec. 26, 2021 that the locally transmitted cases were less than 100.

The National Health Commission of China said in a statement on Wednesday that a total of 91 coronavirus cases were reported across the country a day earlier.

Xi'an, the capital of northwestern Shaanxi province and hotspot of ongoing outbreak, reported 35 of the locally transmitted cases.

The city of 13 million is under lockdown since Dec. 22. It has recorded more than 1,700 cases since Dec. 9.

The Chinese authorities Tuesday suspended Xi'an big data bureau head Liu Jun after the city's health code system crashed twice amid citywide COVID-19 testing in the past few weeks.

Local health authorities have set up more than 5,000 nucleic acid testing sites across the city full of natives and expats.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland was almost 103,000 by Tuesday, including nearly 3,300 patients still receiving treatment, with 31 in severe condition. More than 4,600 people died of the coronavirus.