China reports 16 new COVID-19 cases vs 24 a day earlier

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: People shop at the Sanya International Duty-Free Shopping Complex in Sanya

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Mainland China reported 16 new COVID-19 cases on Dec. 13, down from 24 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Monday.

The National Health Commission said in a statement that 14 of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas. Two new locally transmitted cases were reported in Heilongjiang province, the commission said.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to nine from 14 a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the mainland now stands at 86,741, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.

(Reporting by Jing Wang and Brenda Goh; Writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)