Zhong Nanshan, the Chinese government's senior medical adviser and the public face of the country's fight against Covid-19, also confirmed in an exclusive interview with CNN on Saturday that local authorities in Wuhan, the city where the novel coronavirus was first reported in December, had suppressed key details about the magnitude of the initial outbreak.

National Health Commission (NHC) earlier said China has reported over 82,000 coronavirus cases, with at least 4,633 deaths.

The country imposed lockdowns and travel bans after COVID-19 cases surged earlier this year.

As the number of cases has lowered in the country, China has eased lockdown norms in recent times.

However, fresh clusters of coronavirus cases have emerged across China recently.

"The majority of ... Chinese at the moment are still susceptible of the Covid-19 infection, because (of) a lack of immunity," Zhong told CNN.

"We are facing (a) big challenge, it's not better than the foreign countries I think at the moment," he said.