China recorded its highest daily Covid-19 figure since April with 61 new cases on Monday. The new cases emerged from clusters in three separate regions, that have sparked fears of a fresh wave.
Out of the 61 new cases, 57 of them were found in the far northwestern Xinjiang region, according to the National Health Commission, where a sudden outbreak in the regional capital of Urumqi occurred in mid-July.
Residential areas in both Dalian and Urumqui have been placed under lockdown.
Fourteen domestic cases were recorded in the northeastern province of Liaoning where a fresh cluster broke out in the city of Dalian last week.
Authorities at Dalian have announced a city-wide testing programme hoping that early detection would allow early treatment and early isolation and allow a speedy return to normal economic activity.
Two more local cases were found in the province of Jilin near the North Korean border and four positives confirmed on Monday were from overseas, an AFP report read.
These take the total of new infections to 178 in 11 days.
The outbreaks come a day after the Chinese Super League football tournament kicked off its much-delayed season on Saturday.
Experts still have not confirmed the origin of the recent Xinjiang cluster. The fresh infections in Jilin were announced just days after President Xi Jinping concluded an inspection tour of the province last week.
