China said Wednesday it would no longer track asymptomatic coronavirus cases as the country tries to navigate a sudden shift from its zero-COVID policies and major cities report an uptick in infections.
The National Health Commission (NHC) said it would be impossible to get accurate statistics, given the lack of testing among those who aren’t feeling sick.
Officially, it reported 2,249 symptomatic COVID-19 cases nationally for the prior day. About 20% of them were in the capital, Beijing, which is experiencing an outbreak after the big shift in virus policy.
Crowds have been reported around fever clinics in Beijing, where infections grew in number from 94 to more than 300 in recent days, according to The Associated Press.