
China on Friday reported the highest daily count of new local COVID cases in six months as outbreaks widened, pushing policymakers to walk an even finer line between holding the virus at bay while keeping a lid on social and economic angst.
New locally transmitted cases rose to 3,871 on Thursday, according to regular data released by the National Health Commission, the highest since early May when Shanghai was fighting its worst outbreak and Beijing was scrambling to contain one.