China logs 1,908 new local Covid-19 cases, 52 more deaths in 24 hours

The Chinese mainland reported 1,908 new locally transmitted confirmed Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours

The Chinese mainland reported 1,908 new locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and 52 more deaths in the past 24 hours, said the National Health Commission on Tuesday.

Of these local cases, 1,661 were reported while the rest of the cases were reported in 17 other provincial-level regions on the mainland, including 91 in Jiangxi, 44 in Jilin, and 32 in Beijing, Xinhua reported citing the commission.

China also reported a total of 15,816 locally transmitted asymptomatic infections of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, of which, 15,319 local asymptomatic carriers were identified in Shanghai.

As many as 28,726 COVID patients are undergoing treatment in hospitals across the country, while 2,323 recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours.

With 52 COVID-19 fatalities, all in Shanghai, reported in the past 24 hours, the country's death toll mounted to 4,828, Xinhua reported.

Meanwhile, as the COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread in more and more cities in China, questions are mounting over the country's zero covid policy.

The country's much-publicized 'zero-covid' strategy that the government credited for bringing the country out of the pandemic till recently is falling apart as the rapidly mounting cases are again forcing mass lockdowns like those seen in 2020.

Moreover, China's financial hub, Shanghai, has been facing the worst COVID-19 outbreak and has been desperately seeking medical care and basic supplies like food.