A man (center) registers for a coronavirus test at tents set up on the streets of Beijing on Dec 27, 2020. (NG HAN GUAN / AP)

BEIJING - The Chinese mainland on Sunday reported 21 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, including six locally transmitted cases and 15 imported ones, the National Health Commission said Monday.

All the local cases were reported in northeast China's Liaoning province, the commission said in its daily report. 

Of the new imported cases, six were posted in Inner Mongolia, three in Zhejiang, two in Shanghai, and one each in Beijing, Tianjin, Guangdong and Sichuan, the National Health Commission said

Of the new imported cases, six were posted in Inner Mongolia, three in Zhejiang, two in Shanghai, and one each in Beijing, Tianjin, Guangdong and Sichuan, the commission said.

No additional deaths related to the disease were reported, while one new suspected case arriving from outside the mainland was posted in Shanghai, said the commission.

Another 16 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery, it said.

By the end of Sunday, a total of 4,218 imported cases had been reported on the mainland. Among them, 3,948 had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, and 270 remained hospitalized. No deaths had been reported among the imported cases.

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The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland reached 86,976 by Sunday, including 339 patients still receiving treatment.

A total of 82,003 patients had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, and 4,634 had died as a result of the virus, according to the commission.

There was one suspected COVID-19 case on the mainland as of Sunday, and 11,791 close contacts remained under medical observation.

Sunday saw 20 asymptomatic cases newly reported, 16 of whom arrived from outside the mainland. Four asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed cases on the same day.

A total of 267 asymptomatic cases were under medical observation, of whom 219 arrived from outside the mainland.

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By the end of Sunday, 8,610 confirmed cases, including 137 deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 46 cases in the Macao SAR, and 785 cases, including seven deaths, in Taiwan.

A total of 7,474 COVID-19 patients in the Hong Kong SAR had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, 46 in the Macao SAR, and 653 in Taiwan.