SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – China has reported 2 388 COVID-19 new cases in its local area with symptoms confirmed on Friday. This is nearly twice the number of the same day before. The country faces the worst outbreak in its history since one that began in Wuhan, 2020.

On Thursday, the number of confirmed domestically-transmitted asymptomatic cases rose to 1,742, up from 1,206 on Wednesday.

Although the number of cases is small by international standards it has been reported that many areas across the country are working hard to control the spread.

Shanghai, a major city commercial center, reported that it had 57 local symptomatic infection cases on March 17. There were also 203 domestically-transmitted asymptomatic cases. This is an increase of eight and 150, respectively, which was the result of a continuing citywide testing program.

Late on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that China would continue to use its “dynamic clearance” policy to stop the spread.

According to state media, he told the Politburo Standing Committee meeting that victory comes from perseverance. However, he encouraged China to develop more efficient measures and minimize its economic consequences.

On March 17, China reported that there had been 126,234 confirmed cases of symptoms in mainland China. This includes both those from the local area and people who arrived from abroad. No new deaths were reported, so the death total remained at 4,636.