Medical workers escort patients infected with the novel coronavirus to the newly built Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Feb 4, 2020. (XIAO YIJIU / XINHUA)

BEIJING / Wuhan — Chinese health authorities Friday said it received reports of 3,143 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 73 deaths on Thursday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. 

Among the deaths, 69 were in Hubei province, one in Jilin, one in Henan, one in Guangdong and one in Hainan, according to China's National Health Commission.

Among the confirmed, Hubei reported 2,447 new cases of infection, local health authorities said Friday.

The provincial capital Wuhan reported 1,501 new infections and 64 new deaths, and the cities of Xiaogan and Huanggang reported 255 and 90 new confirmed cases, respectively, according to the Hubei Provincial Health Commission.

Another 4,833 new suspected cases were also reported on Thursday, said the national health commission.

Also on Thursday, 962 patients became seriously ill, and 387 people were discharged from hospital after recovery

Also on Thursday, 962 patients became seriously ill, and 387 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, including 184 from Hubei. 

The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 31,161 by the end of Thursday, the commission said, noting that a total of 636 people had died of the disease.

Hubei had 22,112 confirmed cases by Thursday, with 618 deaths and 4,002 cases in severe or critical condition. The province had seen 817 patients discharged after recovery from hospital. 

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The commission added that 4,821 patients remained in severe condition, and 26,359 people were suspected of being infected with the virus. A total of 1,540 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery.

The commission said 314,028 close contacts had been traced, adding that among them, 26,762 were discharged from medical observation on Thursday, with 186,045 others still under medical observation.

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By the end of Thursday, 24 confirmed cases had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), including one death, 10 in the Macao SAR and 16 in Taiwan.