China recorded no new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland for May 22, the first time it had seen no daily rise in the number of cases since the pandemic began in the central city of Wuhan late last year, reports Reuters.

China has seen a sharp fall in locally transmitted cases since March as a tight lockdown helped it to take control of the epidemic in many parts of the country.

Imported cases pose a threat to China becoming coronavirus free

China has continued to see an influx of imported cases, mainly involving Chinese nationals returning from abroad, while new clusters of infections in the north eastern border provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang have emerged in recent weeks. Wuhan also reported this month its first cluster of infections since a lockdown on the city ended on April 8, prompting authorities to warn that counter-epidemic measures could not be relaxed and to launch a campaign to test all of Wuhan’s 11 million residents for COVID-19.

The number of confirmed cases in the mainland stands at 82,971 and the death toll remains unchanged at 4,634.

Also read: 15 – 20 percent increase predicted in daily COVID-19 cases for the next week