By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ANKARA (AA) – China said on Thursday that COVID-19 cases of "Indian strain" have been reported in some cities of the country.
Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told a news conference that cases of the coronavirus strain found in India have also been detected in some Chinese cities, public broadcaster CGTN reported.
He said the mutation of the coronavirus has been occurring since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the country can block the transmission of different virus variants.
According to the Chinese daily Global Times, at least 11 Chinese crew members of a cargo ship tested positive for the coronavirus after returning from India, as reported on Wednesday in the Zhoushan city of the eastern Zhejiang province.
As China's Labor Day holiday approaches, Wu also emphasized the importance of normalizing pandemic measures.
Meanwhile, the National Health Commission said in a statement on Thursday that the country has reported 20 new cases of COVID-19, all imported, including those 11 found in the Zhejiang province.
China has reported 90,642 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 4,636 deaths, since the first infections were detected in Wuhan in December 2019.
– COVID-19 in India
India is undergoing a tsunami of COVID-19 with over 300,000 daily infections since mid-April.
The staggering cases of the infections have overwhelmed hospitals while COVID-19 victims are struggling to get ounces of oxygen.
India on Thursday reported a record high in the number of coronavirus cases, registering a staggering 379,257 new infections.
The country's Health Ministry said that overall cases have now reached 18.3 million, while the death toll stood at 204,832, including 3,645 more fatalities.
WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus described the situation as "beyond heartbreaking" as the South Asian country, reporting highest figures globally, becomes the epicenter of the COVID-19 disaster.
The WHO has also reassigned 2,600 employees from other projects in India to help fight the pandemic.
