Virus update: 16 new infection cases on mainland, no fatalities

A total of 16 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection were reported Saturday on the Chinese mainland, bringing the number up to 82,735, along with no fatalities, according to the National Health Commission.

With six locally transmitted cases in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province and one in South China's Guangdong province, the remaining nine infections were imported cases, bringing the tally of imported cases to 1,575 as of Saturday midnight, the commission said.

Of the 1,575 imported cases, 847 patients were still under treatment, including 47 severe cases, while 728 patients had been discharged from the hospital after recovery by the end of Saturday, with no deaths reported.

Also on Saturday, 33 people were discharged from the hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases stood at 85. A total of 77,062 people had been discharged from the hospital after recovery as of Saturday midnight.

With another two new suspected cases reported Saturday, a total of 48 people, 44 of whom are imported, are still suspected of being infected with the virus, the commission added.

Health authorities said that 8,632 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Saturday, 1,073 people were discharged from medical observation.

The Chinese mainland also reported 44 new asymptomatic cases on Saturday, along with 62 discharged from medical observation. So far, a total of 999 asymptomatic patients infected with the virus are under medical observation, 186 of whom were detected from inbound arrivals, according to the commission.

By the end of Saturday, 1,023 confirmed cases, including four deaths, had been reported in Hong Kong, with 45 confirmed cases in Macao, and 398 in Taiwan, including six deaths. And 568 patients in Hong Kong, 17 in Macao and 178 in Taiwan have been discharged from the hospital after recovery.

Central China's Hubei province, the hard-hit region on the Chinese mainland, reported zero local transmitted cases or new fatalities on Saturday.

The province also saw 13 patients discharged from the hospital after recovery on Saturday, bringing the total number of discharged patients in the province to 63,507, the commission said, adding that Hubei had no suspected cases as of Saturday midnight.