China reports 19 new COVID-19 cases vs 25 a day earlier

Reuters
·1 min read
Medical worker collects a swab from a man for nucleic acid testing at a hospital in Shenyang

BEIJING (Reuters) - China reported 19 new COVID-19 cases on Dec. 31, down from 25 cases a day earlier, the national health authority said on Friday.

The National Health Commission said in a statement that 10 of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas.

The nine locally transmitted cases came from the northeastern province of Liaoning and the capital city of Beijing.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 19 from eight a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China now stands at 87,071, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.

(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill)