HONG KONG reported 80 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, snapping a 12-day streak of more than 100 new cases each day, but a health official stressed that anti-epidemic measures cannot be loosened.

Of the new cases, all locally infected, 56 patients were related to previous cases, while transmission chains of the other 24 were still unclear, according to a press conference of the Center for Health Protection (CHP).

Despite the dropping new cases, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the CHP’s Communicable Disease Branch, called for continued efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

So far Hong Kong has reported 3,589 cases, and the number of those who remain in hospital is 1,243. The number of deaths from COVID-19 is 37.

The national health authority said yesterday that it received reports of 43 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Sunday, including seven imported cases and 36 locally transmitted ones.

Three new imported cases were reported in Jiangsu Province, two in Shandong Province, and one each in Liaoning Province and Guangdong Province, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

Twenty-eight of the 36 locally transmitted cases were reported in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and eight in Liaoning Province.

Three new suspected COVID-19 cases, all imported, were reported in Shanghai Municipality.

No deaths related to the disease were reported Sunday.

Ten COVID-19 patients were newly discharged from hospitals after recovery, the commission said.

By the end of Sunday, a total of 2,092 imported cases had been reported on the mainland. Of them, 1,997 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 95 remained hospitalized, with two in serious conditions. No deaths from the imported cases had been reported.

As of Sunday, the overall confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland had reached 84,428, including 781 patients who were still being treated, with 35 in severe conditions.

Altogether 79,013 people had been discharged after recovery, and 4,634 had died of the disease on the mainland, the commission said.

There were still four suspected COVID-19 cases, it added.

According to the commission, 560 close contacts were newly discharged from medical observation and there were 21,585 close contacts still under medical observation.

(Xinhua)