Hu Qiangqiang:
Friends from the media, good afternoon! Welcome to this press conference held by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council.
The Dragon Boat Festival holiday is coming. Many people want to visit relatives or go traveling during the holiday, and some have already made their plans. Recently, there have been heated discussions about whether to go out to travel or visit relatives, whether it is necessary to take nucleic acid tests in advance, and what needs special attention during outings. During this press conference, we will introduce you to issues concerning nucleic acid testing and offer advice about trips during the holiday. The speakers will also take your questions.
We have with us today Mr. Liu Kezhi, director of the Department of Market Regulation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Mr. He Qinghua, first-level inspector at the Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control of the National Health Commission (NHC); Ms. Guo Yanhong, supervisor of the Bureau of Medical Administration of the NHC; and Mr. Li Jinming, researcher with the National Center for Clinical Laboratories.
I'm Hu Qiangqiang, spokesperson and deputy director of the Department of Publicity of the NHC.
First, I'll report on the COVID-19 situation in China.
On June 23, 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland, as well as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, reported 12 new cases of confirmed infections (three inbound cases and nine domestic ones) and four new suspected cases (domestic), but no deaths.
Three patients were discharged from the hospital after recovering, and 584 people who had been in close contact with infected persons were deemed no longer in need of medical observation. The number of serious cases decreased from that of June 22 by one.
A total of 87 inbound cases were being treated, and there remained no suspected cases from abroad. As of June 23, the Chinese mainland reported a total of 1,888 inbound cases and no deaths. In all, 1,801 patients had already been discharged from hospitals after recovery.
According to the figures reported by 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland, as well as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, as of midnight on June 23, a total of 368 patients were still being treated. In all, 78,428 patients have been discharged [since the start of the outbreak] after recovery, and 4,634 people have died of the disease. The overall confirmed cases on the mainland reached 83,430, and 18 people were still under observation as potential infections. So far, 759,279 people have been identified as having had close contact with infected patients, and 7,557 continue to be under medical observation.
On June 23, 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland, as well as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, reported three new asymptomatic cases. One of these became a confirmed case, and another one was relieved from further medical observation. As of midnight on June 23, a total of 100 asymptomatic cases were still under medical observation.
As of June 23, a total of 1,668 confirmed cases had been reported in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Macao SAR and Taiwan, with 1,177 in Hong Kong, 45 in Macao and 446 in Taiwan.
The daily number of new confirmed cases dropped below 10 on June 23. A decrease was seen in the number of people who had been in close contact with infected patients and were thus needing to be placed under medical observation for the first time since new clusters of cases emerged in Beijing. However, domestic confirmed and suspected cases are continuing to increase, with both case clusters and sporadic cases being reported. During the approaching Dragon Boat Festival, all response measures must continue to be strictly enforced and effective self-protection must be ensured.
Such is the current state of the pandemic.
Now, we will move on to questions. Please raise questions that are based on the theme of today's press conference, and first identify your news outlet.
