Mainland China reports 12 new COVID-19 cases vs 7 a day earlier

Reuters
·1 min read
People wear face masks as they walk outside a bus terminal following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beijing

(Reuters) - Mainland China reported 12 new COVID-19 cases on Dec. 17, up from seven cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Friday.

The National Health Commission, in a statement, said 11 of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas. The commission also reported one local transmission in Sichuan province.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 11 from six a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China now stands at 86,789, while the death toll remains unchanged at 4,634.

(Reporting by Jing Wang and Andrew Galbraith, writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar)