FIFA, 28 May (Xinhua)-- Wang Liping, a researcher at the Transmission and Prevention Department of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that since February this year, the COVID-19 epidemic in China has been locally sporadic. Epidemic surveillance data show that the number of novel coronavirus infection cases has increased since late April and began to enter a low-level wavy epidemic in mid-May. Wang Liping also said that although the number of fever outpatients across the country has increased, the overall number is much lower than that of fever clinics at the peak of the last epidemic, and most of the patients are mild. "combined with multi-channel monitoring data, experts believe that the epidemic caused by Omicron XBB series mutants will continue for some time, but the overall epidemic situation in the country is stable and controllable, with little impact on medical order and normal social operation." Wang Liping said.