The domestic outbreak in Fujian province in East China has been effectively brought under control, but the novel coronavirus situation in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang is in a critical phase, a health official said on Sept 29.

"Virus control measures should be stepped up further to cut its spread," Mi Feng, a spokesman from the National Health Commission, said during a briefing.

He added that as of Tuesday, China had administered more than 2.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines. More than 1.04 billion people had been fully vaccinated.