China reports 1,094 new Covid cases on August 9, increase from 939 cases day earlier

According to the National Health Commission's announcement on Wednesday, China reported 1,094 new cases of coronavirus for August 9, of which 444 were symptomatic and 650 were asymptomatic. Contrast that to 939 new cases, consisting of 399 symptomatic and 540 asymptomatic illnesses, a day earlier. China has separate records for cases with and without symptoms. The country's death toll remained at 5,226 due to no additional deaths. There were 232,109 confirmed cases with symptoms in mainland China as of August 9.

According to local government data, neither the financial centre of Shanghai nor the capital Beijing of China reported any new instances. Shenzhen, a centre of technology in the south, likewise reported no new infections. However, the island of Hainan is experiencing an outbreak and between August 1 and August 9 reported 1,314 symptomatic and 585 asymptomatic cases.

Tuesday saw a rush in China to manage Covid outbreaks in the popular tourist destinations of Tibet and Hainan. Additional rounds of mass testing were conducted, and venues were closed to contain the extremely contagious Omicron form. Mainland According to official data released on Tuesday, China reported 828 new domestically transmitted cases for August 8 spanning more than a dozen provinces and regions, with more than half of them occurring in the popular tourist island of Hainan.

Tibet has also reported instances, despite having only ever before recorded one symptomatic case since the pandemic began more than two years ago. Tuesday saw widespread Covid testing throughout Tibet, including in the country's two main cities, Lhasa and Shigatse, where local officials cancelled major gatherings, locked down places of worship and entertainment, and closed popular tourist attractions like the Potala Palace.

On August 8, the Tibetan government identified 21 local asymptomatic illnesses and one local patient with confirmed symptoms. Despite the modest number of cases compared to other places in China and the world, several locals were upset by the uncommon diseases.

(with inputs from agencies)