THE National Health Commission dispatched a working group yesterday to guide COVID-19 response efforts in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The border city of Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia, reported 19 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases from 12 a.m. to 4 p.m. yesterday, local authorities said.

Among them, two were registered as asymptomatic cases previously. The city also reported an asymptomatic case during the period, officials with the municipal government told a press conference.

Manzhouli launched city-wide nucleic acid testing at 8 a.m. yesterday and aims to complete it by 8 a.m. today.

A total of 630 people are now under medical observation, according to Song Jixiang, vice mayor of Manzhouli.

In addition, Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported three new imported cases of COVID-19 yesterday, taking the total tally to 12,427.

Two of the cases involved mutant strains while the mutation test result of the remaining case is pending. A total of 44 cases have been reported in the past 14 days and all of them were imported, according to the CHP.

The mainland Saturday reported three new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the National Health Commission said in its daily report yesterday.

Of the new local cases, two were reported in Yunnan and one in Liaoning.

(Xinhua)