China’s health commission is reporting a spike in new COVID-19 cases in several provinces, prompting health officials to urge citizens to use personal protection. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.
At a Beijing news conference, National Health Commission spokesperson Mi Feng said 17 new cases were reported Monday, up from 14 the day before. This marked the first double-digit increase in new cases in 10 days.
The spokesman said seven of the new cases were listed as “imported” into the inner-Mongolia region from overseas, while five were in the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, where a strict lockdown was lifted last month.
Another five cases were spread across three northeastern provinces, including Jilin, where authorities suspended train service in and out of a county after a cluster was recently detected. China state television reports a team of experts was being sent to the area to investigate the situation.
According to the Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus dashboard, China currently has more than 84,000 confirmed infections, and 4,637 deaths.
