Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely applied in the treatment protocols for locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and asymptomatic carriers currently being reported in China, Bing Yuanyuan, an official with the National Administration of TCM, said on Thursday.

Bing said that TCM has played a primary role in treating COVID-19 patients with mild and ordinary symptoms such as fever, cough and fatigue, while for those more severely ill, customized treatment featuring integration of TCM with Western medicine is employed.

TCM has also been used to improve recovery of discharged patients and protect from infection close contacts under quarantine and workers on the forefront of the anti-pandemic work, the official added.

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 5.3 million people worldwide since it first began. Although self-quarantine and the rollout of vaccines as biological shields have effectively slowed down the infection rate, TCM and other forms of herbal medicine have also been suggested as treatments for COVID-19 patients. 

The Chinese mainland recorded 77 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with 69 linked to local transmissions and eight from overseas, data from the National Health Commission showed on Thursday.

A total of 20 new asymptomatic cases were also recorded, and 459 asymptomatic patients remain under medical observation.

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(With input from Xinhua)