Shaanxi records drop in virus cases

China's epidemic situation is stable, as the outbreak in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, is showing signs of abating, officials said on Saturday. 

As of Saturday morning, the province in Northwest China had reported over 1,990 confirmed local infections — mostly in the provincial capital of Xi'an — since early December, according to the National Health Commission. 

He Qinghua, an official with the commission's Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, said that in Xi'an, areas at risk of the virus' spread are shrinking and community transmission has been basically curbed thanks to efficient disease control work. 

However, "multiple measures still need to be strictly implemented and intensified," he added. 

Shaanxi province registered 46 confirmed local cases for Friday, down from 57 cases from the previous day, according to the commission. 

Meanwhile, Henan province reported 43 local infections for the same day. Zhejiang province registered four new cases and Guangdong province reported two. 

Shanghai municipality also found three locally transmitted, asymptomatic infections for Friday. 

He said that infection clusters in Henan and Zhejiang provinces, as well as Shanghai are connected and are at an early stage, while the cluster in Guangdong province is caused by another source connected to imported cases. 

China had delivered nearly 2.9 billion COVID-19 doses as of Friday, including more than 472.7 million doses administered to people aged 3 to 17, according to the commission. 

As of the same day, the country had vaccinated more than 1.21 billion people, accounting for about 86 percent of total population, said the commission.