China reports highest new daily Covid-19 cases since February 2020

China reported more than 13,000 new Covid-19 cases amid the country’s worst virus outbreak since the early days of the pandemic.

There were more than 8,000 infections discovered in Shanghai on Saturday, authorities said.

China added more than 13,000 new Covid-19 infections with state media reporting a case infected with a new subtype of the omicron variant.

The new iteration of the virus, isolated from a mild Covid-19 patient in a city less than 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Shanghai, evolves from the BA.1.1 branch of the omicron variant, Global Times reported, citing sequencing data from local health authorities. The report said the subtype doesn’t match other coronavirus that’s causing Covid in China nor those submitted to GISAID, where scientists around the world share the coronavirus they sequenced as a way to monitor mutations.

Almost 12,000 of the cases reported nationwide on Saturday were asymptomatic. 

Vice Premier Sun Chunlan arrived in the country’s virus hotspot of Shanghai to oversee prevention efforts, as she ordered officials to curtail the outbreak “as soon as possible,” according to Xinhua. Cases in the financial hub exceeded 8,000 on Saturday including 7,788 asymptomatic infections. 

Shanghai will start a new round of mass testing on Monday, authorities said. 

Sun, who previously went to Jilin to oversee lockdown measures in the northeast province, ordered Shanghai officials to “resolutely” conduct measures to stop the outbreak. All of the metropolis’ 25 million residents are currently under some form of quarantine.

Entire Shanghai Placed Under Lockdown as Covid Cases Surge.

In the city of Sanya in Hainan province, authorities suspended all transportation to stymie the spread of Covid, according to a post on an official WeChat account.

China expects sharp drop in holiday travel 

China's transport ministry expects a 20 per cent drop in road traffic and a 55 per cent fall in flights during the three-day Qingming holiday

More than 27 Chinese provinces and regions have recently reported coronavirus cases, mostly the highly transmissible Omicron variant, forcing the authorities to impose stringent mobility restrictions or even city-wide lockdowns.

Chinese typically travel back to their home towns to worship their ancestors during the tomb-sweeping festival.

The average daily number of vehicles on the roads are estimated to reach 39-40 million during the holiday, which kicks off on April 3, down 21 per cent from the same period last year, according to a statement from the Ministry of Transport.

The number of planned flights was forecast to decrease by 55 per cent this holiday from the year before, with air travellers also at only 20 per cent of last year's levels, the ministry said.

Shanghai orders twin tests for all

China's business capital Shanghai on Sunday ordered the city's entire 26.3 million people to undergo twin tests to stop the spread of coronavirus, as the country reported 13,146 new cases, the highest daily increase in the number of infections in the latest outbreak.

Shanghai will conduct city-wide antigen testing and nucleic acid testing on Monday amid efforts to contain the recent resurgence of cases in the metropolis.