China reports 11 new confirmed, 7 asymptomatic Covid-19 cases for June 12

SHANGHAI: China reported 11 new Covid-19 cases and seven asymptomatic cases for June 12, the national health authority said on Saturday.

The National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement that five of the new confirmed patients were so-called imported cases involving travelers from overseas.

The six locally transmitted cases were all in Beijing, the statement said.

The NHC reported seven confirmed cases and one asymptomatic case a day earlier.

Meanwhile, Beijing district put itself on a “wartime” footing and the capital banned tourism and sports events on Saturday after a cluster of novel coronavirus infections centred around a major wholesale market sparked fears of a new wave of Covid-19.

Forty-five people out of 517 tested with throat swabs at the Xinfadi market in the city’s southwestern Fengtai district had tested positive for the coronavirus, Chu Junwei, a district official, told a briefing.

None were showing symptoms of Covid-19, he said, but added that 11 neighbourhoods in the vicinity of the market, which claims to be the largest agricultural wholesale market in Asia, had been locked down with 24-hour guards put in place.

The closure of the market and new restrictions come as concerns grow about a second wave of the pandemic, which has infected more than 7.66 million people worldwide and killed more than 420,000.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in mainland China now stands at 83,075, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634. China does not count asymptomatic patients, who are infected with the virus but do not display symptoms, as confirmed cases.