A medical worker collects a swab sample from a resident at a community in Yuhua district of Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei province, Jan 7, 2021. (JIN HAOYUAN / XINHUA)

BEIJING - Hebei on Friday designated five more areas as medium risk, as the province reported 33 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 39 asymptomatic carriers, down from a single-day's increase of 51 confirmed patients and 69 asymptomatic cases on Thursday, according to the Health Commission of Hebei.

Also on Friday, the local legislature in the city of Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei, appointed Ma Yujun as the city's vice-mayor and acting mayor.

The decision was made at the 33rd session of the Standing Committee of the 14th Shijiazhuang Municipal People's Congress, according to a statement issued by the committee.

With the addition of the new cases, Hebei now has a total of 123 confirmed COVID-19 patients and 181 asymptomatic carriers, the commission said. Among all confirmed cases, five have severe symptoms while the rest are displaying medium conditions.

Five communities and villages were designated as medium-risk areas on Friday morning in Nangong city, Xingtai

Of the newly confirmed cases, 31 were reported in Shijiazhuang, of which one was previously diagnosed as asymptomatic carrier. The other two cases were in Xingtai city.

The province has reported new cases for six consecutive days since this new outbreak of COVID-19 started over the weekend.

Five communities and villages were designated as medium-risk areas on Friday morning in Nangong city, Xingtai.

As of Friday, Hebei has one high-risk area, which is Gaocheng district in Shijiazhuang, the only such in the country, as well as eight medium-risk areas, all in Nangong, Xingtai.

Ten medical teams consisting of 209 medical workers from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces arrived in Shijiazhuang late Thursday and joined in nucleic acid testing work in the city and Xingtai, the publicity department of Hebei said.

Each team brought with them five sets of testing equipment and 50,000 nucleic acid testing kits.

Medical workers from Jiangsu and Zhejiang arrive at Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, on Jan 7, 2021. The two provinces sent 10 teams consisting of 209 medical workers to aid with nucleic acid testing in Hebei's Shijiangzhuang and Xingtai. (ZHANG YU / FOR CHINADAILY.COM.CN)

China's National Health Commission said Friday it received reports of 53 newly confirmed COVID-19 infections on the mainland Thursday, of which 37 were locally transmitted cases and 16 were imported.

Of the new local cases, 33 were reported in Hebei, two in Liaoning, and one each in Beijing and Heilongjiang, the commission said in its daily report.

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Eight of the new imported infections were registered in Shanghai, three in Guangdong, and one each in Liaoning, Jiangsu, Fujian, Henan, and Hunan, the National Health Commission said

Eight of the new imported infections were registered in Shanghai, three in Guangdong, and one each in Liaoning, Jiangsu, Fujian, Henan, and Hunan, the commission said.

No new suspected cases or deaths related to COVID-19 were reported.

Another 17 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery, while 521 others were still being treated, including 13 in severe condition, the commission said.

By the end of Thursday, 4,375 imported cases had been reported on the mainland with no deaths.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland reached 87,331 by Thursday, including 82,176 recoveries and 4,634 deaths, according to the commission. 

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There were no suspected cases as of Thursday, and 23,974 close contacts remained under medical observation.

By the end of Thursday, 9,107 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 154 deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), while 46 cases had been reported in the Macao SAR, and 822 cases, including seven deaths, had been reported in Taiwan.