The epi-centre of Coronavirus pandemic China, reported its first domestic Coronavirus case after a hiatus of three days as the country initiated stricter measures to avert COVID-19 after it saw a surge in imported infections with 45 new cases.

According to the National Health Commission (NHC) of China, 46 new confirmed cases were reported on the mainland on Saturday, including one domestic infection transmitted by imported cases in Guangzhou.

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Six deaths were reported from China, including five from Hubei Province, taking the death toll in the country to 3,261.

Wuhan the epi-centre of COVID-19, however, has not reported a new coronavirus case for the fourth consecutive day, health officials said.

China reported 81,054  overall confirmed cases on the mainland on Saturday. Of the total, 3,261 are the fatalities while, 5,549 patients are still being treated. 72,244 patients have been discharged after recovering from the Coronavirus.

504 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 118 to 1,845, on Saturday.

The imported cases included 14 from Shanghai, 13 from Beijing, seven from Guangdong province, four from Fujian province and two from Jiangsu province, while the provinces of Hebei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Shandong and Sichuan reported one case each, taking the total number of infections from abroad to 314, the NHC said.

“China will take strict measures to prevent imported cases”, NHC spokesman Mi Feng told media on Saturday and called for unswerving efforts in preventing the COVID-19 epidemic from rebounding.

Beijing and several other Chinese cities are already observing quarantine rules under which the people will be confined to designated hotels for which they have to pay. People returning from foreign lands to Beijing would undergo a 14-day quarantine by diverting flights to neighbouring cities where the facilities have been arranged.

A record 14 cases were in the financial hub of Shanghai, and 13 were reported in the capital Beijing, a decline from 21 the previous day. As in other Asian nations which had appeared to get their outbreaks under control, China is now fearful of a second wave brought in by people coming into the country,  reported The Guardian.

273 confirmed cases, including four deaths, were reported in the neighbouring Hong Kong, 18 confirmed cases in Macao and 153 in Taiwan with two fatalities reported as well.