Hebei reports 19 new local COVID-19 cases

Hebei reported 19 new local COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the first instance of less than 20 in 10 days.

The province identified 19 new local confirmed COVID-19 cases and five asymptomatic carriers on Tuesday, increasing its caseload of confirmed patients to 818 and asymptomatic carriers under medical observation to 168, the Health Commission of Hebei reported on Wednesday morning.

The number of confirmed cases for a single-day's rise in the province has fallen for four consecutive days, and Tuesday's data is the first time there were under 20 in the past 10 days.

The province also discharged a COVID-19 patient and one asymptomatic carrier from hospitals and quarantine centers who had recovered on Tuesday, increasing the total recoveries to 40 since Jan 13 when the first recoveries were discharged.

Among the new confirmed cases, 13 are in Shijiazhuang, four of whom were previously diagnosed as asymptomatic carriers, and six are in Xingtai, the commission said. Among the new asymptomatic results, four are in Shijiazhuang and one in Langfang, which first identified a COVID-19 patient on Jan 11.

Nine of the newly confirmed patients in Shijiazhuang are in villages of the city's Gaocheng district, with the eldest being 84 years old. Among the rest, one is from Dongpinglao village in Zhengding county. The 33-year-old woman worked near her home at a fast food restaurant in Shijiazhuang Zhengding International airport.

All of the confirmed cases in Xingtai are in its county-level city Nangong, which is the second-worst place in terms of infections after Shijiazhuang.

The province has reported new cases for 18 consecutive days since this new outbreak of COVID-19 started in the beginning of the year. Residents in Shijiazhuang have stayed at home for self-quarantine for about half a month. The local government said on Tuesday the city will conduct a third round of citywide nucleic acid testing starting on Wednesday.