Heilongjiang province reported 43 new locally transmitted confirmed cases and 68 asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 on Wednesday night, according to the province's health commission.
Among the 43 confirmed cases, 36 were reported in Suihua city's Wangkui county, where the first asymptomatic case was reported on Sunday in the recent outbreak, Fang Qingwei, deputy director of the health commission said at a news conference.
Two cases were reported in Heilongjiang's capital city Harbin and the other two were formal asymptomatic carriers reported in Beilin district of Suihua.
The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's full virus gene sequencing results showed the virus is completely similar with the strain circulating in the recent outbreak in Dalian, Liaoning province, said Dong Wenqin, deputy mayor of Suihua, adding that further epidemiological investigations are underway.
China on Thursday reported its first COVID-19 death in about eight months since May 17. The death occurred in Hebei Province.
The Chinese mainland reported 138 new confirmed cases and 78 asymptomatic ones on Thursday. Of all the confirmed cases, 81 come from Hebei, including 75 in its capital city Shijiazhuang. The province has 16 active severe cases in hospital.
No further information about the newly reported fatality has been released.
Chinese authorities said most of the patients from this round of infections are middle-aged and elderly people.
