North China city reports 7 new local COVID-19 cases

Hohhot, capital of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, reported seven new locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases between midnight Sunday and 2 pm Monday, local authorities said Monday.

A total of 168 local confirmed cases, including five severe cases and one critical case, have been registered in the city during the latest resurgence, as of 2 pm Monday, according to a press conference held by the municipal government.

Local health authorities have traced 5,219 close contacts and 3,225 secondary close contacts of the reported cases.

Gene sequencing has found that 48 cases were infected with the Delta variant, said Wang Dawei, deputy director of the Hohhot center for disease control and prevention.