China reports fourth straight daily record of new COVID cases

China reports fourth straight daily record of new COVID cases

World

China reports fourth straight daily record of new COVID cases

BEIJING (Reuters) - China reported a record high of 39,791 new COVID-19 infections on Nov. 26, of which 3,709 were symptomatic and 36,082 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Sunday.

That is compared with 35,183 new cases a day earlier – 3,474 symptomatic and 31,709 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately.

Excluding imported infections, China reported 39,506 new local cases, of which 3,648 were symptomatic and 35,858 were asymptomatic, up from 34,909 a day earlier.

There was one new death, versus none a day earlier, raising the total number of fatalities to 5,233.

As of Nov. 26, mainland China had confirmed 307,802 cases with symptoms.

Meanwhile, rare protests broke out in China’s far western Xinjiang region, with crowds shouting at hazmat-suited guards after a deadly fire triggered anger over their prolonged COVID-19 lockdown as nationwide infections set another record.

Crowds chanted "End the lockdown!", pumping their fists in the air as they walked down a street, according to videos circulated on Chinese social media on Friday night. Reuters verified the footage was published from the Xinjiang capital Urumqi.

Videos showed people in a plaza singing China’s national anthem with its lyric, "Rise up, those who refuse to be slaves!" while others shouted that they wanted to be released from lockdowns.

China has put the vast Xinjiang region under some of the country’s longest lockdowns, with many of Urumqi’s 4 million residents barred from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days. The city reported about 100 new cases each of the past two days.