China reports 1,803 new cases of Covid-19 cases in last 24 hours

China reported 1,803 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the National Health Commission said on Thursday.

Of the new local infections, 1,340 were reported in Jilin, 355 in Shanghai, 19 in Heilongjiang, 15 in Henan, and 11 each in Fujian and Guangdong, Xinhua News Agency reported citing the commission.

The rest of the cases were reported in 16 other provincial-level regions.

On Wednesday, a total of 36 imported COVID-19 cases were reported, as per the commission which added that two suspected cases arriving from outside the mainland were reported in Shanghai and no new deaths from COVID-19 were reported on the day.

Meanwhile, the Chinese authorities have imposed the strictest lockdown measures in the city of 26 million since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, a media report said.

The city which is one of the important financial hubs of the country has been placed under lockdown as a result of China's 'zero-covid' strategy, Vision Times said.

Previously, Shanghai had managed its smaller previous outbreaks with limited lockdowns of housing compounds and workplaces where the virus was reported to be spreading.

This month, China has faced its worst outbreak since the coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan. From March 1 to 24, the country had reported 56,000 infections -- more than the total cases in Wuhan two years ago. On Sunday, 6,215 positive tests were recorded, with 3,500 of those in Shanghai, the Washington Post reported.

The number of coronavirus cases and deaths reported by the Chinese authorities since the beginning of the pandemic in late 2019 is considered a tiny fraction of the real figures, with Beijing admitting to just over 1,00,000 total cases prior to the current surge.