CHINA has reported an increase in new coronavirus cases, reversing four days of decline.
The rise in confirmed cases has been caused by infected travellers arriving from abroad.
The new cases in China have been from returning Chinese nationals
China had four days of no new infections before Monday
On Monday China had 48 new cases which was up from 31 infections a day earlier.
All 48 of those cases were imported by travellers entering the country, bringing the total number of imported cased in China to 771 as of Monday.
While locally transmitted infections in China have declined, authorities are concerned about new cases involving travellers who have become infected abroad.
Health screenings and quarantine protocols have been set up to counteract the imported cases with China reducing the number of international flights and barring entry to most foreigners.
Airports in China have set up health screenings for returning locals
A family waits to be checked for coronavirus
According to Chinese state media, 10 of the 48 cases were in China’s Inner Mongolia region which involved travellers whose flights were diverted from Beijing to Hohhot, the region’s capital city.
11 of the imported cases were mainly Chinese nationals returning from abroad while Beijing reported three new imported infections.
On March 23 a leading Chinese coronavirus expert warned of a second outbreak because of the number of potentially infected people returning from abroad.
Professor Li Lanjuan, a member of Beijing’s expert team on the virus, said she was “very worried that imported cases could trigger another large-scale epidemic in our country”.
Prof Li, 73, told China News: “Cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou have frequent international communications.
“[I am] very worried that imported cases could trigger another large-scale epidemic in our country.”
The epicentre of the virus, Wuhan, has reported no new confirmed infections for the seventh day in a row.
But reports claim that the death toll for the city could be more than ten times that claimed by the authorities.
Those living in hard-hit Wuhan believe around 42,000 people have now been killed by the airborne bug compared to the 3,000 to 4,000 claimed by the state.
Locals point to the fact around 500 urns are being delivered to grieving families each day from seven funeral homes based in the massive city, in Hubei Province.
Reports say the ashes of 3,500 people are now due to be distributed every day in the run up to Qing Ming festival on April 5 when families tend the graves of the dead.
This would mean 42,000 urns could be distributed in that 12-day period – as the deliveries have been been ongoing for five days, reports the Mail Online.
And those living in Wuhan say they know more people are dying than what is being reported sparking fears of another state cover up.
As of Monday, there have been a total of 81,518 deaths in China with 3,305 deaths.
Wuhan has had no new cases of coronavirus in seven days
Passengers travelling on the subway in China