China said on Thursday that COVID-19 cases of "Indian strain" have been reported in some cities of the country.
Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told a news conference that cases of the coronavirus strain found in India have also been detected in some Chinese cities.
He said the mutation of the coronavirus has been occurring since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the country can block the transmission of different virus variants.
At least 11 Chinese crew members of a cargo ship tested positive for the coronavirus after returning from India, as reported on Wednesday in the Zhoushan city of the eastern Zhejiang province.
As China's Labor Day holiday approaches, Wu also emphasized the importance of normalizing pandemic measures.