(Yicai) July 17 -- The Covid-19 epidemic in China is still at a low epidemic level despite a recent upward trend from an increase in cases in sentinel hospitals across the country, according to a researcher from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention's infectious disease division.

China's Covid-19 epidemic has been at the inter-epidemic level since last October, with a low level of virus activity, Chang Zhaorui said at a press conference yesterday. Cases slightly increased in late May, but returned to a low epidemic level by the middle of last month.

New confirmed cases in China nearly tripled to 79,000 last month from May, with 130 being severe and one resulting in death, according to data the China CDC released earlier. The main circulating strain remains the NB.1.8.1 variant, with no new variants that may pose additional public health risks having been identified.

The Covid-19 epidemic has evolved into a common respiratory infectious disease, so the public does not need to be overly concerned about normal fluctuations, Chang stressed. However, it is recommended to maintain good hygiene practices, such as hand hygiene and cough etiquette, amid people's increased inter-regional movement during the summer, Chang pointed out.

In recent years, mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya fevers have been widely spreading in many tropical and subtropical countries, said Li Jiandong, a researcher from the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention at the China CDC. Climate change has expanded areas suitable for the survival of Aedes mosquitoes, Li noted.

Frequent cross-border travel and increased summer tourism activities in China have increased the risk of imported cases and interprovincial transmission that have led to local outbreaks, Li noted

Guangdong province reported 50 cases of dengue fever and 36 cases of chikungunya fever last month, according to data from the local CDC. Chikungunya fever has been classified under the management of Category B infectious diseases in China since April 1.

Editor: Martin Kadiev