This is the most since the peak of the first pandemic wave over two years ago, with Shanghai now the epicentre of the country's worst outbreak.

The highly transmissible Omicron variant has spread to more than twelve provinces, rattling China's "zero-Covid" strategy which had until March successfully kept the daily caseload down to double or triple digits.

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However, the current outbreak is also testing the patience of the Chinese towards tough restrictions, as Beijing imposes targeted lockdowns, mass tests and travel curbs are at a time when much of the world has re-opened.

Millions of Chinese residents have again endured some form of lockdown over the last month, disrupting work and damaging the economy. 

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The country recorded 13,146 cases on Sunday, the National Health Commission said in a statement, with "no new deaths" reported.

It is China's highest infection toll since the middle of February 2020. 

AFP