BEIJING, (Reuters) – China’s financial center Shanghai reported Tuesday a fifth consecutive day of locally transmitted COVID-19 asymptomatic patients. This is due to the Omicron variant which complicates efforts for halting the spread.

According to official data, Shanghai had reported 865 domestically transmissible asymptomatic illnesses on Monday. That’s an increase from the 734 that was recorded a day before.

Shanghai also reported 31 cases in the area with confirmed symptoms. China separates these reports. One person, initially diagnosed as an asymptomatic illness, later developed symptoms according to data provided by the National Health Commission.

Although the infection increase is not as severe as those seen in other outbreaks, it comes at a time when Shanghai seeks to intensify its efforts to implement China’s “dynamic clearance” policy. This policy aims to reduce flare-ups and continues to block test blocks after more than 30,000,000 tests.

The NHC reported that mainland China had 2281 newly transmitted diseases with confirmed symptoms Monday, which includes Shanghai-related infections. This is compared to 1,947 the previous day.

Most of these cases occurred in Jilin, a northeastern province.

2/313 cases were reported as new locally asymptomatic, up from 2/384 a day prior.

The death toll stood at 4,638.

March 21: China has reported 134,564 confirmed cases of symptoms in mainland China. These include both local and foreign infections.