China’s National Health Commission announced Monday that for the first time in about two months, its mainland recorded no new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases.
Reuters reported that the country recorded a total of 14 new cases on Sunday, but it was determined to be infections brought back from overseas. The report also said that Beijing does not count asymptomatic cases.
China has given broader approval for the domestic-made Sinovac coronavirus vaccine, expanding those who can receive it beyond the high-risk and priority groups already allowed under an emergency clearance.
There has been speculation about the COVID-19 numbers being announced by China as compared to the rest of the world. For example, the U.S. announced fewer than 100,000 cases on Sunday. The Chinese government has been widely accused of downplaying the virus when it first came out of Wuhan in late 2019, and of trying to hide its origin and suppress its numbers.
Stanley Rosen, a University of Southern California professor who specializes in Chinese politics, told Fox News last week that any inaccuracies would likely be coming from local officials who report to the central government.
“I would think that even if the statistics are not completely accurate, they do suggest that China is doing a reasonably good job of controlling further outbreaks,” he said.
Fox News’ Brie Stimson and the Associated Press contributed to this report