China reports 161 new COVID-19 cases for Jan 2 vs 191 day earlier

BEIJING (Reuters) - China reported 161 confirmed coronavirus cases for Jan. 2, down from 191 a day earlier, the country's health authority said on Monday.

Of the new infections, 101 were locally transmitted, according to a statement by the National Health Commission, down from 131 a day earlier.

Most of the new local cases were in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, where the capital city Xian has been on lockdown to try to control the spread of the disease. Zhejiang province also reported new cases.

China reported 35 new asymptomatic cases, which it classifies separately from confirmed cases, compared with 52 a day earlier.

There were no new fatalities, leaving the death toll unchanged at 4,636. Mainland China had 102,666 confirmed cases as of the end of Jan 2.

(Reporting by Judy Hua, Sophie Yu and Yew Lun Tian; Editing by Himani Sarkar)