Imported cases remain vast majority in new coronavirus infections

A total of 31 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 4 deaths were reported on Sunday on the Chinese mainland, bringing the two numbers to 81,470 and 3,304 respectively, statistics from the National Health Commission show on Monday. 

All four new fatalities occurred in Hubei province, the commission said, adding there were another 17 new suspected cases reported Sunday, all from abroad. A total of 168 people are still suspected of being infected with the virus, and there are 2,396 confirmed cases across the country.

For newly confirmed cases, 30 were imported from abroad and one was a local infection in northwestern province Gansu.

As of Sunday, China has found 723 imported confirmed cases. Ninety-three of them have been cured and discharged from hospital, and 19 are in severe condition. There are also 165 suspected cases imported from abroad across the country. 

On Sunday, 322 people were discharged from hospitals after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 109 to 633. A total of 75,770 people had been discharged from hospitals after recovery as of Sunday at midnight.

Health authorities on the mainland have traced 704,190 people with close contact with confirmed patients. Among them, 1,575 were discharged from medical observation Sunday, with 19,235 others still under observation.

By the end of Sunday, 641 confirmed cases including 4 deaths had been reported in Hong Kong, 38 confirmed cases in Macao and 298 in Taiwan including three deaths. And 118 patients in Hong Kong, 10 in Macao and 39 in Taiwan have been discharged from hospitals after recovery.

Hubei, the hardest-hit province on the Chinese mainland, reported zero new confirmed cases and suspected cases on Sunday. The province also has zero suspected cases at present.  

As of Sunday, a total of 67,801 confirmed cases and 3,186 deaths have been reported in Hubei. It still has 1,733 confirmed cases, including 601 in severe condition.

The province also saw 317 patients discharged from hospital after recovery on Sunday, bringing the total number of discharged patients in the province to 62,882.