China reports 2,478 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection, 108 new deaths

Qin Xinghui(L), a community instructor for virus control, arrives at a citizen's home who called hotline "96120" for help, at Xiaonan District of Xiaogan, central China's Hubei Province, on Feb. 9, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese health authorities on Tuesday said it received reports of 2,478 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 108 deaths on Monday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

Among the deaths, 103 were in Hubei Province, and one in Beijing, Tianjin, Heilongjiang, Anhui and Henan respectively, according to China's National Health Commission.

Another 3,536 new suspected cases were reported Monday, said the commission.

Also on Monday, 849 patients became seriously ill, while 716 people were discharged from hospital after recovery.

The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 42,638 by the end of Monday, and 1,016 people had died of the disease.

The commission added that 7,333 patients remained in severe condition, and 21,675 people were suspected of being infected with the virus.

A total of 3,996 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery.

The commission said 428,438 close contacts had been traced, adding that among them, 26,724 were discharged from medical observation Monday, with 187,728 others still under medical observation.

By the end of Monday, 42 confirmed cases including one death had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 18 in Taiwan.

One patient in Macao and one in Taiwan have been discharged from hospital after recovery.