Students disinfects their hands before entering the school compound, in Guangzhou, China, April 27, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING/HARBIN - Chinese health authorities said Monday that it received reports of three new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Sunday, of which two were imported.

The other new case was a domestically-transmitted infection in Heilongjiang province, the National Health Commission said in a daily report.

Heilongjiang reported one new domestic case and one asymptomatic case on Sunday

Five suspected cases were reported on the mainland, of which four were imported and one was domestically transmitted in Beijing.

No deaths were reported Sunday on the mainland, according to the commission.

Altogether, 80 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery Sunday, while the number of severe cases increased by one to 52.

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As of Sunday, the mainland had reported a total of 1,636 imported cases. Of those cases, 1,009 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 627 were being treated with 22 in severe conditions, said the commission.

No deaths from the imported cases had been reported, it added.

Meanwhile, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,830 by Sunday, including 723 patients who were still being treated and 77,474 people who had been discharged after recovery, the commission said in its daily report.

Altogether 4,633 people had died of the disease, with the death toll in Beijing revised up by one on Sunday, it said.

The commission said that 10 people, including seven from abroad, were still suspected of being infected with the virus.　

It added that 8,443 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Sunday, 508 people were released from medical observation.

A National Health Commission official said that since March 21, the commission has received reports of 107 cases which were linked to imported cases, accounting for 88.4% of local confirmed cases

Also on Sunday, 25 new asymptomatic cases, including one from abroad, were reported on the mainland. No domestic asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed cases, and 51 people, 21 of whom were from abroad, were released from medical observation, according to the commission.

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The commission said 974 suspected asymptomatic cases, including 131 from abroad, were still under medical observation.

By Sunday, 1,037 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 429 in Taiwan including six deaths.

A total of 772 patients in Hong Kong, 31 in Macao and 281 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery. 

Heilongjiang

In addition to the single newly reported domestic case, Heilongjiang also saw one new asymptomatic case on Sunday.

By Sunday, the province had reported a total of 550 locally-transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and 386 imported cases.

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The province had a total of 11 imported asymptomatic cases by Sunday.

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The "closed-loop management" of possible cases should be exercised to ensure the timely and effective handling of any cluster cases or community transmission of the virus that may occur, Wang Bin, an official with the commission said

107 infections 'linked to imported cases since March 21'

Spearking at press conference later on Monday, Wang Bin, an official with the commission, said that since March 21, the commission has received reports of 107 infections which were linked to imported cases.

Those cases accounted for 88.4 percent of local confirmed cases, said Wang.

According to Wang, a history of close contact or common exposure to relevant confirmed cases has been found in these cases, with the greatest threat of exposure within families.

Wang said this should serve as a reminder for anti-virus staff and the public about the importance of strengthening efforts to cope with imported cases, noting that there were some loopholes in earlier efforts to prevent imported cases and there has been a fall in vigilance among some anti-epidemic personnel and members of the public.

She said relevant efforts must be further strengthened with quarantine measures for all inbound travelers being properly carried out.

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The requirements of early detection, reporting, quarantine and treatment should be implemented and the monitoring system at fever clinics and the reporting network must be enhanced.

The "closed-loop management" of possible cases should be exercised to ensure the timely and effective handling of any cluster cases or community transmission of the virus that may occur, Wang noted.