BEIJING: Chinese health authority said Sunday it received reports of 20 newly confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 10 deaths from novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the Chinese mainland Saturday.
All of the four newly-confirmed indigenous cases and all of the deaths were reported in Wuhan, the provincial capital and epicenter of the outbreak, according to the National Health Commission. Meanwhile, 39 newly-added suspected cases were reported, said the commission. Also on Saturday, 1,370 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 384 to 3,226.
The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,844 by the end of Saturday, including 10,734 patients who were still being treated, 66,911 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,199 people who died of the disease.
The commission said that 113 people were still suspected of having been infected with the virus.
The commission noted that 10,189 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Saturday, 1,409 people were discharged from medical observation.
Sixteen imported cases were reported on the mainland Saturday. Among them, five were reported in Beijing, four in Zhejiang Province, three in Shanghai and Gansu Province, as well as one in Guangdong Province. By the end of Saturday, 111 imported cases had been reported, said the commission.
By the end of Saturday, 141 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 53 in Taiwan including one death. A total of 81 patients in Hong Kong, 10 in Macao and 20 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospital after recovery.
“No locally transmitted confirmed cases have been reported in Hubei outside Wuhan for 10 consecutive days,” Mi Feng, spokesperson for the National Health Commission, said Sunday at a press conference in Beijing. Mi noted that the daily number of the newly confirmed indigenous cases on the mainland outside Hubei Province has been in single digits since Feb. 27, with no new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases reported for three consecutive days.
Currently, the most pressing and important task is to prioritize medical treatment work and strive to improve the cure rate, he added.
– The Daily Mail-China Daily News exchange item
