SHANGHAI: Mainland China reported 24 new COVID-19 cases on Dec. 29, down from 27 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Wednesday.

The National Health Commission said in its daily online bulletin that 17 of the new cases were imported infections originating from abroad. The seven locally transmitted cases came from the northeastern provinces of Liaoning and Heilongjiang, and the capital city of Beijing.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 17 cases from eight a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China now stands at 87,027, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.