Men wearing protective masks stand as people hike along a section of the Great Wall in Badaling in Beijing, on its first day of re-opening after the scenic site's coronavirus related closure, China, March 24, 2020. Photo: Reuters


Reuters, Beijing
Mainland China reported a drop in new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday as imported infections fell and no locally transmitted infections were reported, including in central Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak in China.

The number of new cases totalled 47 on Tuesday, all of which were from travellers returning home, down from 78 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said.

New imported cases in Beijing, Guangdong and Fujian declined, though the daily tally of new imported infections rose to a record 19 cases in the financial hub of Shanghai.

New cases of infected international arrivals were also reported in Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Jilin, Zhejiang, Shandong and Shaanxi.

The total accumulated number of confirmed cases in mainland China stands at 81,218, with imported infections accounting for 474 cases.

The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China reached 3,281 as of the end of Tuesday, up by four from the previous day.