China sees highest daily figure of COVID-19 patients in current outbreak

BEIJING: China reported on Friday its highest daily count of new COVID-19 patients in an outbreak that began in late July, fuelled by a surge in locally transmitted infections.

Officials blamed the latest clusters mainly on the highly transmissible Delta variant, though it has not led to widespread infection in some cities, while cases in some areas show initial signs they could ease. China reported 124 new confirmed cases for Thursday, the National Health Commission (NHC) said, up from 85 a day earlier. Of the new confirmed infections, 80 were locally transmitted, up from 62 a day earlier, it added.