China reports six new virus cases

China has reported six confirmed coronavirus cases for May 18, including a new case in Wuhan, the health authority says, compared to seven a day earlier.

The National Health Commission (NHC) said in its daily bulletin on Tuesday that three of the six new cases were imported. The imported cases were all in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia.

Of the three new local transmissions, two were in the northeastern border province of Jilin, currently in a semi-lockdown as it battles with a new wave of infections.

Separately, the Jilin health authority reported on Tuesday that it had confirmed five new cases for May 18. No explanation was given for the discrepancy with the NHC number.

Wuhan, where the new coronavirus outbreak first began in China, reported one new case for May 18, a patient who was previously asymptomatic.

The central Chinese city in Hubei province is in the midst of a massive testing campaign to identify virus carriers who exhibit no outward signs of illness but are still capable of infecting others.

Wuhan last reported a cluster of six cases on May 9-10.

The new cases reported for May 18 takes the cumulative tally of mainland infections to 82,960, with the death toll at 4634.

The NHC also reported 17 new asymptomatic coronavirus cases on May 18, compared with 18 on the previous day.