SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China reported 22 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for Aug. 14, compared to 30 cases a day earlier, the health commission said on Saturday.
Of the new infections, 14 were imported, down from 22 a day earlier, according to a statement by the National Health Commission. China also reported 20 new asymptomatic patients, compared to 28 a day earlier.
The eight locally transmitted cases included seven in the far western region of Xinjiang and one in Guangdong province.
On Friday, a shopping centre in Shenzhen, a city in Guangdong, was sealed after a COVID-19 case was confirmed there. The Shenzhen health authority later that day said two positive cases had been found, both of whom had worked inside the mall at the Alibaba-owned supermarket Freshippo.
Freshippo said in a separate statement that it had suspended operations at 21 of its stores in Shenzhen to carry out disinfection work and nucleic acid tests for its employees.
As of Aug. 14, mainland China had 84,808 confirmed coronavirus cases, the health authority said. The COVID-19 death toll remained at 4,634.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
