Number of border crossers highest since latest outbreak

The number of people who crossed the Chinese mainland border on Monday reached 676,000, the highest single day figure since the nation's last COVID-19 outbreak, the National Immigration Administration said on Tuesday.

The figure was 32.8 percent higher than on Sunday and 124.4 percent higher than the average daily number reported before the implementation of China's optimized immigration management policies last month.

The higher figure was also due in part to the full resumption of worker exchanges between the mainland and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions on Monday, the NIA said.

Of the 676,000 who crossed the border on Monday, 568,000 went through the land ports adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao, an increase of 39.2 percent over the previous day, it added.