BEIJING/URUMQI - China's National Health Commission said Thursday that it received reports of 28 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Wednesday, including eight that were domestically transmitted and 20 imported cases.

Eight of the new imported cases were posted in Shanghai, four in Sichuan, three in Shaanxi, two in Henan, and one each in Beijing, Inner Mongolia & Fujian, the National Health Commission said

All the new local cases were reported in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the commission said in its daily report.

According to Xinjiang health authorities, they were asymptomatic cases that were re-categorized as confirmed cases. The local healh authorities also reported two new asymptomatic cases which were detected among people who are under isolated medical observation in Shufu county, Kashgar prefecture.

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For the new imported cases, eight were reported in Shanghai, four in Sichuan, three in Shaanxi, two in Henan, and one each in Beijing, Inner Mongolia and Fujian, the commission said.

Three new suspected cases, all arriving from outside the mainland, were also reported, including two in Shanghai and one in Inner Mongolia. 

No additional deaths related to the disease were reported, the commission said.

Another 20 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery, it said, adding that there were 400 others still being treated, including nine in severe condition.

By the end of Wednesday, the mainland has so far reported a total of 3,480 imported cases, of which 3,155 have been discharged from hospitals after recovery while 325 remained hospitalized, the commission said. No deaths had been reported from the imported cases. 

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So far, a total of 86,115 confirmed cases have been reported on the mainland, including 81,081 recoveries and 4,634 deaths, according to the commission.

Currently, there were four suspected cases on the mainland, while 15,933 close contacts were still under medical observation after 956 were released from observation.

Another 24 new asymptomatic cases, including 22 arriving from outside the mainland, were reported, while 10 asymptomatic cases, including two from outside the mainland, were re-categorized as confirmed cases.

The commission said 825 asymptomatic cases, including 485 from outside the mainland, were still under medical observation.

By Wednesday, 5,348 confirmed cases, including 106 deaths, have been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), while the Macao SAR has had 46 cases and Taiwan has recorded 568 cases, including seven deaths.

A total of 5,118 patients in the Hong Kong SAR, 46 in the Macao SAR and 521 in Taiwan have been discharged from hospitals after recovery.