BEIJING, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authority said Friday it received reports of 31 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland on Thursday, of which 29 were imported.
Two new domestic cases were reported -- one in Liaoning Province and one in Guangdong Province, the National Health Commission said.
Also on Thursday, four deaths, all in Hubei Province; and 12 new suspected cases, all imported ones, were reported on the mainland, according to the commission.
On Thursday, 163 people were discharged from hospitals after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 50 to 379.
As of Thursday, the mainland had reported a total of 870 imported cases. Of the imported cases, 160 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 710 were being treated with 19 in severe conditions, said the commission.
The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 81,620 by Thursday, including 1,727 patients who were still being treated, 76,571 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,322 people who died of the disease.
The commission said that 135 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus, all of whom were from abroad.
It added that 19,533 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Thursday, 1,990 people were discharged from medical observation.
Also on Thursday, 60 new asymptomatic COVID-19 cases were reported on the mainland, including seven imported ones. Seven asymptomatic cases, all imported ones, were re-categorized as confirmed infections, and 101 were discharged from medical observation including five imported cases, according to the commission.
The commission said 1,027 asymptomatic cases were still under medical observation, including 221 from abroad.
By Thursday, 802 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 41 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 339 in Taiwan including five deaths.
A total of 154 patients in Hong Kong, 10 in Macao and 50 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.
