BEIJING (Reuters – Mainland China reports 1,807 new COVID-19 local symptomatic cases Sunday. It is nearly triple the daily caseload the day before and more than twice as many in two years. The increase in infections in a northeastern region has strained health resources.

According to data released by the National Health Commission on Sunday, the number of confirmed domestically transmitted cases reporting symptoms for Saturday jumped sharply from 476 days ago. 1,807 people were counted daily, which included 114 cases initially classified as unsymptomatic but who later developed symptoms.

China has a much lower case count than many countries. However, the increasing number of cases could pose a problem for Beijing’s “dynamic clearance” goal to eliminate contagion as soon as possible.

Omicron has led health officials to permit the public to purchase rapid self-test kits to detect infection quickly. This is because experts believe that the Chinese earlier method of testing for infections, which relied on a nucleic acid test and required medical personnel to collect samples, has been made more difficult by the new fast-spreading version.

Jilin in northeastern China, which reported 1,412 cases of local symptomatic disease on Saturday, was responsible for 78% and up from 134 the day before.

“[The increase]A Jilin province official said that the rapid increase in epidemics meant some areas were unable to grow their medical resources. This resulted in an admission rate of only a few infections to centralized facilities over a brief period.

The provincial capital Changchun is already in lockdown. Authorities have also been testing mass and are working to transform an existing exhibition space into a temporary facility with 1,500 beds. According to reports from state media and local officials.

Shenzhen, the southern tech center of Shenzhen, reported 60 cases of confirmed local symptoms on Saturday. This is the largest daily increase in such cases since China’s first epidemic in 2020.

Shenzhen’s nine districts banned eating out in restaurants.

State media reported on Sunday that six officials from the Dongguan Communist Party or local government were fired for failing to do a good job with COVID prevention, control and mitigation.

NHC data revealed that the number of locally transmitted asymptomatic new cases rose from 1,048 to 1,315 Saturday, marking the fourth straight day of rises.

No new deaths were reported, leaving the death total at 4,636. On March 12, China reported 115 466 confirmed symptoms from mainland China. These included both residents and people who have arrived from other parts of the country.