Latest developments in epidemic control on April 24 (1)

Here are the latest developments on the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China:

— Chinese internet giants Alibaba Group, JD.com, and Tencent have launched booking services for COVID-19 tests, the companies said.

Ali Health, Alibaba's health care subsidiary, has offered testing appointments in 10 cities, including Shanghai and Beijing starting from April 21. It will extend the service to 28 more cities this week.

JD Health, JD.com's health care subsidiary, and WeChat, Tencent's social media platform, also launched similar booking platforms for COVID-19 tests in Beijing, Guangzhou, and other cities.

— Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played an effective role in treating COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, the central China city hit hard by the epidemic, a medical expert said on April 23.

The first batch of TCM doctors who were sent to Wuhan for assistance had combined TCM and Western medicines to cure 132 patients, successfully reducing the mortality rate and the use of hormone treatment compared with other wards, said Qi Wensheng, a doctor with Guang'anmen Hospital in Beijing under the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, at a press conference.

— The development of a new type of medical protective suit, which features integration of multiple protective outfits and will be safer and more comfortable to wear, has seen new progress, according to Chinese developers.

— Chinese health authority said on April 23 that it received reports of 10 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland April 22, of which six were imported.

The other four new cases were domestically transmitted, including three in Heilongjiang province and one in Guangdong province.

No death or suspected case was reported on April 22 on the mainland.

As of April 22, the mainland had reported a total of 1,616 imported cases, 823 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 793 were being treated with 37 in severe conditions.

— The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,798 by April 22, including 959 patients who were still being treated and 77,207 people who had been discharged after recovery. Altogether 4,632 people had died of the disease.

— Also on April 22, 27 new asymptomatic cases, including one from abroad, were reported on the mainland. Three domestic asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed cases, and 31 people, seven of whom were from abroad, were discharged from medical observation.

A total of 984 suspected asymptomatic cases, including 166 from abroad, were still under medical observation.

— Heilongjiang province on April 22 reported three new locally-transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and one new imported confirmed case. The new imported case was a Chinese national returning from Russia.

— No new confirmed cases or new deaths of COVID-19 were reported in Central China's Hubei province on April 22.

By the end of April 22, the province had 546 asymptomatic cases under medical observation, after 21 new such cases were reported and 23 were ruled out on April 22.

By April 22, Hubei has reported 68,128 confirmed COVID-19 cases in total, including 50,333 in Wuhan.

— Shanghai reported one imported COVID-19 case and zero increase in locally transmitted COVID-19 case on April 22.