The Chinese mainland reported 215,958 COVID-19 hospitalizations and 26,156 in critical conditions as of Thursday, according to a Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control release on Saturday.

Of the critically ill patients, 24,262 had underlying conditions.

From Jan 20 to 26, the mainland reported 6,364 COVID-related deaths, of which 289 died of respiratory failure and the rest died from complications due to preexisting conditions.

By Thursday, 3.48 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered to about 1.31 billion people, with 1.27 billion completing a full course of vaccination and 826 million receiving their first booster jabs, the center said.

Some 241 million people aged 60 and above received a cumulative 678 million vaccine doses, with 230 million completing a full course of vaccination and 192 million receiving their first booster jabs by Thursday.