New imported coronavirus cases in China exceed local ones
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A photo taken on March 13, 2020 shows health workers in protective suits outside the New China International Exhibition Centre, near Beijing Capital Airport, on March 13, 2020.
PHOTO: AFP
BEIJING • The number of new coronavirus cases imported into mainland China from overseas surpassed the number of locally transmitted new infections for the first time last Friday, according to data released by the National Health Commission yesterday.
Mainland China had 11 new confirmed cases last Friday, up from eight cases a day earlier, but only four of those - all in the virus epicentre of Hubei province - were locally transmitted.
The other seven - including four in the financial hub of Shanghai, one in the capital Beijing and two in the north-western province of Gansu - were all detected in travellers coming into China from overseas, specifically Italy, the United States and Saudi Arabia, according to the local authorities.
Yesterday, Shanghai confirmed a further two imported cases in travellers from France and Spain.
The numbers underscore how China, where the outbreak began last December, appears to now face a greater threat of new infections from outside its borders as it continues to slow the spread of the virus domestically.
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella over the phone to offer his "sincere condolences" to the Italian people over the crisis, CCTV reported yesterday.
Mr Xi also held phone calls with the presidents of Iran and South Korea, expressing condolences.
The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China reached 3,189 as of last Friday. More than 80,800 people have been infected in mainland China.
REUTERS
