China recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus cases since the outbreak hit even as strict control measures continue to be implemented in the country.
Among the main cities affected by the outbreak are the capital Beijing and the southern trading hub Guangzhou.
On Wednesday, the country recorded 31,527 cases, surpassing the peak of 29,317 recorded in mid-April last when the closure (lockdown) was implemented in Shanghai.
The spread of the epidemic is spreading after the country eased some of its Covid-19 restrictions.
It reduced the quarantine period for close contacts from 7 days to 5 and 3 days at home, and stopped the secondary contact record requirement which allowed more people to avoid having to be quarantined.
Authorities are also trying to avoid enforcing blanket restrictions like the one experienced in Shanghai earlier this year.
However, faced with a new surge in cases in Beijing and the first death in months, they were forced to reimpose some restrictions in affected districts.
This was followed by the closure of the city of Zhengzhou which will affect 6 million residents from Friday.
