China reports 1,455 new local COVID-19 cases in last 24 hours

Beijing [China], April 3 (AN): The Chinese mainland reported 1,455 new locally-transmitted COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, the National Health Commission said on Sunday.
Of the local confirmed cases reported Saturday, 956 were in the northeastern province of Jilin, 438 in Shanghai, and 11 in Zhejiang, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Over a dozen other provincial-level regions also saw new locally-transmitted COVID-19 infections.
Besides, a total of 51 new imported COVID-19 cases were reported across the Chinese mainland, compared with 43 in the previous day.
Following the recovery of 2,468 patients on Saturday, the number of COVID-19 patients currently undergoing treatment stood at 26,167, including 57 in critical conditions.
There have been no new COVID-19 deaths and the death toll has remained unchanged at 4,638, as per the agency.
Meanwhile, the Chinese authorities have imposed the strictest lockdown measures in the city of 26 million since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, a media report had said.
The city which is one of the important financial hubs of the country has been placed under lockdown as a result of China's 'zero-covid' strategy, Vision Times said.
Previously, Shanghai had managed its smaller previous outbreaks with limited lockdowns of housing compounds and workplaces where the virus was reported to be spreading.
This month, China has faced its worst outbreak since the coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan. From March 1 to 24, the country had reported 56,000 infections -- more than the total cases in Wuhan two years ago. On Sunday, 6,215 positive tests were recorded, with 3,500 of those in Shanghai, the Washington Post reported.
The number of coronavirus cases and deaths reported by the Chinese authorities since the beginning of the pandemic in late 2019 is considered a tiny fraction of the real figures, with Beijing admitting to just over 1,00,000 total cases prior to the current surge. (ANI)