China reports 76 new COVID-19 cases on Dec 16 vs 77 a day earlier

BEIJING, Dec 17 (Reuters) – China reported 76 new confirmed coronavirus cases for Dec. 16, compared with 77 a day earlier, its health authority said on Friday.

Of the new infections, 56 were locally transmitted, according to a statement by the National Health Commission, compared with 69 a day earlier.

The new local cases were reported by authorities in the provinces of Zhejiang, Shaanxi, Guangdong, Sichuan and the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia.

China reported 23 new asymptomatic cases, which it classifies separately from confirmed cases, compared with 20 a day earlier.

There were no new deaths, leaving the death toll unchanged at 4,636.

As of Dec. 16, mainland China had 100,076 confirmed cases.

Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; writing by Chen Lin; Editing by Christopher Cushing

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