The number of symptomatic COVID cases in China triples every day.
BEIJING, March 13 (Reuters) - On Sunday, Mainland China reported 1,807 new local symptomatic COVID-19 cases, which increased by more than triple the caseload of the previous day, and the highest rate in two years, as rising infectious infections in a northeastern province are restricting health resources.
The number of domestically transmitted illnesses with confirmed symptoms reported for Saturday increased dramatically from 476 the previous day, according to the National Health Commission. The 1,807 daily count included 114 individuals initially classified as asymptomatic who developed symptoms later on Saturday.
China's actual case count is far less than that of many other countries, but Beijing's "dynamic-clearance" approach may be problematic as quickly as possible.
Omicron has prompted health authorities to allow the general public to purchase rapid self-test kits for the first time in order to help detect infections quickly, according to some experts. China's previous testing strategy, based on a nucleic acid test that requires medical workers to take samples, has become difficult with the fast-spreading variant.
On Saturday, the northeastern province of Jilin reported 1,412 new local symptomatic cases, accounting for 78 percent of the national total, up from 134 more than a day earlier.
"The increase" demonstrates that some local areas, who are facing a rapid epidemic, lack the capacity to develop medical facilities, resulting in limited admission of infections to centralised facilities within a short period of time," a Jilin officials said.
Authorities in Changchun, the provincial capital already under lockdown, have conducted extensive research and are working on renovating a temporary hospital with 1,500 beds, according to local authorities and official media reports.
Shenzhen's southern tech hub reported 60 new local cases with confirmed symptoms for Saturday, the highest daily increase of such cases for the city since China contained the first outbreak in early 2020.
All nine districts in Shenzhen have halted dining in restaurants, closed a slew of indoor entertainment venues, and demanded that companies have employees working from home from March 14-18 if remote work is possible, with exceptions for those in critical areas.
According to official media on Sunday, six officials from local governments or Communist Party offices in Dongguan's southern city have been removed from their positions because they did a poorly job in COVID prevention and control.
The number of new locally transmitted asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, increased to 1,315 on Saturday, up from 1,048 a day earlier, the fourth day in a row, according to NHC statistics.
There were no new deaths, with the total number of deaths expected to be 4,636. As of March 12, mainland China had reported 115,466 cases with confirmed symptoms, including both local ones as well as those arriving from the mainland.
The number of symptomatic COVID cases in China triples every day.