BEIJING -- More than 41,000 local COVID-19 infections had been reported in 28 provincial-level regions across China between March 1 and 21, a senior health official said Tuesday.

Over half of these infections, or 22,000 cases, occurred in Northeast China's Jilin province, where the epidemic is still on the rise, said Lei Zhenglong with the National Health Commission (NHC) at a press conference.

With the repeated resurgence of COVID-19, China is facing a grim and complicated situation of epidemic prevention and control, said Lei.

The Chinese mainland on Monday reported 2,281 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 2,432 asymptomatic cases, NHC data showed.