BEIJING, July 19 — Mainland China reported 16 new Covid-19 cases as of the end of July 18, up from 22 reported a day earlier, the Chinese national health authority said today.

Of the new infection, 13 were found in Urumqi, the capital of China’s far western region of Xinjiang. The other three were imported infection involving travellers from overseas, according to the National Health Commission (NHC) and Xinjiang local health commission.

The NHC reported one new imported asymptomatic case in Shanghai, and Xinjiang’s local health authority reported 18 new asymptomatic patients in Urumqi.

The far west city went into "wartime mode” yesterday, launching an emergency response plan after the city reported 16 new coronavirus cases in the previous day.

As of yesterday, mainland China had 83,660 confirmed coronavirus cases, the national health authority said. The death toll remained at 4,634. — Reuters