Mainland reports no COVID-19 deaths for 14 days

A total of 22 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection were reported Tuesday on the Chinese mainland, bringing the number up to 82,858, along with no fatalities for 14 consecutive days, according to the National Health Commission.

With only one locally transmitted case occurring in Guangdong province, the rest of the 21 infections were imported cases, bringing the tally to 1,660 as of Tuesday midnight.

Of the 1,660 imported cases, 553 patients were still under treatment, including 22 severe cases, while a total of 1,107 patients had been discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of Tuesday with no deaths reported.

Also on Tuesday, 23 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases held steady at 50. A total of 77,578 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery as of Tuesday midnight.

With another two new suspected cases reported Tuesday, a total of 10 people are still suspected of being infected with the virus, and seven of them came in from abroad.

Health authorities said 8,283 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Tuesday, 627 people were discharged from medical observation.

The Chinese mainland also reported 26 new asymptomatic cases on Tuesday, along with 29 discharged from medical observation. So far, a total of 993 asymptomatic patients infected with the virus are still under medical observation, 131 of whom were detected from inbound arrivals.

By the end of Tuesday, 1,037 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in Hong Kong, 45 confirmed cases in Macao and 429 in Taiwan including six deaths. Of these, 811 patients in Hong Kong, 33 in Macao and 307 in Taiwan have been discharged from hospital after recovery.

Hubei province, the hardest-hit region on the Chinese mainland, has reported zero local transmitted cases or new fatalities on Tuesday, as well as zero suspected cases. The province was cleared of confirmed cases.