Volunteers transport supplies at a makeshift hospital converted from an office building, in Suifenhe, northeast China's Heilongjiang province, April 14, 2020. (ZHANG TAO / XINHUA)

BEIJING/WUHAN/HARBIN - Chinese health authorities said Wednesday that it received reports of 46 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Tuesday, of which 36 were imported.

Ten new domestically transmitted cases were reported, including eight in northeast China's Heilongjiang province and two in Guangdong province, the National Health Commission said in a daily report.

Among the 36 imported cases, 14 were in Heilongjiang, which borders Russia.

Of the 14 imported cases, 12 were Chinese nationals returning from Russia, and the other two were Chinese nationals returning from Italy and Japan respectively.

The province, which borders Russia, reported 22 new confirmed cases on Tuesday, local health authorities said.

Of the eight domestically transmitted cases, two were previously asymptomatic cases.

Ten new domestically transmitted cases were reported, including eight in Heilongjiang province and two in Guangdong province, the National Health Commission said

Meanwhile, the commission said one death in Hubei province was reported Tuesday on the mainland. A total of 11 new suspected cases, including 10 imported ones and one in Liaoning province, were also reported.

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According to the commission, 78 people were discharged from hospitals after recovery Tuesday, while the number of severe cases decreased by 3 to 113.

As of Tuesday, the mainland had reported a total of 1,500 imported cases. Of the cases, 596 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, 904 were being treated with 45 in severe condition and no death had been reported, said the commission.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,295 by Tuesday, including 1,137 patients who were still being treated, 77,816 people who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,342 people who died of the disease.

The commission said that 73 people, including 72 from abroad, were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

It added that 8,309 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Tuesday, 1,058 people were released from medical observation.

Also on Tuesday, 57 new asymptomatic cases, including three from abroad, were reported on the mainland. Seven asymptomatic cases, of which five were imported, were re-categorized as confirmed cases, and 32 were released from medical observation including seven imported cases, according to the commission.

A total of 6,764 asymptomatic cases, including 588 imported ones, had been reported on the mainland as of Tuesday, according to the commissino.

A total of 1,297 asymptomatic cases, of which 251 were imported, had been re-categorized as confirmed cases, while 4,444 cases including 109 imported ones had been discharged from medical observation, said Mi Feng, spokesman for the commission, at a press conference.

The commission said 1,023 asymptomatic cases, including 228 from abroad, were still under medical observation.

Noting that 10 new domestically transmitted cases and 54 new domestic asymptomatic cases were reported on Tuesday, Mi called for strengthened epidemic prevention and control measures.

READ MORE: Asymptomatic cases continue to be found

In Heilongjiang, the province had reported a total of 340 confirmed imported COVID-19 cases and one had been discharged from hospital after recovery by Tuesday.

The province reported one new imported asymptomatic case on Tuesday, bringing the total existing number of such cases to 52, according to the provincial health commission. 

In Hubei, the provincial health commission said the province had 619 asymptomatic cases under medical observation by Tuesday, adding that 32 such cases were reported on Tuesday.

Thirty-nine COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospital after recovery on Tuesday. Among the 179 patients being treated in hospital, 24 were still in severe condition and 33 others in critical condition.

Hubei has so far reported 67,803 confirmed COVID-19 cases in total, including 50,008 in Wuhan, and 3,222 deaths.

By Tuesday, 1,012 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 393 in Taiwan including six deaths.

A total of 434 patients in Hong Kong, 15 in Macao and 124 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.