Epidemic remains a challenge, health official says

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

Jilin province is the hardest stricken 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 Jilin has exceeded 1,000 daily for several consecutive days in a row, 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 grown rapidly in recent days, and still at 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 has stabilized, he added.

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