BEIJING — China's daily testing capacity for COVID-19 has surpassed 15 million samples, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Jan 27.

"Our testing capacity is even stronger when we conduct pool testing, for example, five or 10 samples in one batch," said Zeng Yixin, deputy head of the NHC, at a press conference.

China is facing rising demand for virus testing as more people are traveling home for the Spring Festival, said Zeng, urging local authorities to improve their testing capacity and explore ways to lower the testing cost and increase the convenience for people being tested.

The country has seen a notable rise in imported cases, with the daily average number in January nearly double that of November last year, which has posed a challenge to the containment effort, Zeng said.

With the approach of the Spring Festival, an important occasion for family reunions and gatherings, the risks of the virus spreading are mounting in the country, he noted.