China: First new cases of local COVID-19 transmission

China has reported its first new cases of local COVID-19 transmission in the central province of Anhui.

The region had previously largely avoided outbreaks.

State broadcaster CCTV said two cases were reported in Feixi county, and one in Lu'an city.

Authorities have ordered mass testing of residents since Thursday, with Hefei rolling out testing for 62,000 residents, according to CCTV.

The new infections brings China's total number of cases to 90,815 with 4,636 deaths since the virus was detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

China has almost entirely eradicated local transmission of COVID-19 through strict masking rules, electronic case tracing, quarantines and lockdowns.