Chinese mainland reports 19 new confirmed COVID-19 cases

BEIJING - Chinese health authority said Thursday that it received reports of 19 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Wednesday, of whom 14 were domestically transmitted and five were imported.

Of the domestically transmitted cases, 13 were reported in Beijing and one in neighboring Hebei province, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

No deaths related to the disease were reported Wednesday, according to the commission.

As of Wednesday, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 83,449, including 382 patients who were still being treated, with 15 in severe condition.

Altogether 78,433 people had been discharged from hospitals after recovery and 4,634 people had died of the disease, the commission said.

By Wednesday, the Chinese mainland had reported a total of 1,893 imported cases. Of the cases, 1,805 had been discharged after recovery, and 88 remained hospitalized, including one in severe condition. No deaths from the imported cases had been reported.

The commission said no new suspected cases were reported on the mainland Wednesday, and the total suspected cases remained 13.

According to the commission, 8,011 close contacts were still under medical observation after 415 people were discharged from medical observation Wednesday.

One new asymptomatic case, imported from abroad, was reported on the mainland Wednesday, it said, adding that no asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed cases.

The commission said 97 asymptomatic cases, including 57 from abroad, were still under medical observation.

By Wednesday, 1,179 confirmed cases including six deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 446 in Taiwan including seven deaths.

A total of 1,086 patients in the HKSAR, 45 in the Macao SAR, and 435 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.