Photo taken on Dec 30, 2020 shows the view of Zhangjiakou Railway Station in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei province. (ZHANG CHENLIN/XINHUA)

BEIJING - China's National Health Commission said Wednesday that it received reports of 32 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Tuesday, of which 23 were locally transmitted and nine were imported.

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Of the locally transmitted cases, 20 were reported in Hebei and one each in Beijing, Liaoning and Heilongjiang, said the commission in its daily report.

Two new suspected cases were reported, including one arriving from outside the mainland.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland reached 87,215 by Tuesday, including 443 patients still receiving treatment

No new deaths related to the disease were reported.

A total of 21 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery on the Chinese mainland on Tuesday.

By the end of Tuesday, a total of 4,348 imported cases had been reported on the mainland. Among them, 4,063 had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, and 285 remained hospitalized. No deaths had been reported among the imported cases.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland reached 87,215 by Tuesday, including 443 patients still receiving treatment.

A total of 82,138 patients had been discharged from hospitals following recovery on the mainland, and 4,634 had died of the virus, according to the report.

There were three suspected COVID-19 cases on the mainland as of Tuesday.

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Tuesday also saw 64 newly reported asymptomatic cases on the mainland. On the same day, eight asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed ones.

A total of 360 asymptomatic cases were under medical observation, of which 246 were imported ones, the commission said.

By the end of Tuesday, 9,049 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 153 deaths, had been reported in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), while 46 confirmed cases had been reported in Macao SAR, and 817 cases, including seven deaths, in Taiwan.

Altogether 8,127 COVID-19 patients in Hong Kong SAR had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, while 46 had been discharged from hospitals in Macao SAR, and 697 had been discharged from hospitals in Taiwan. 

'High-risk' area

The latest additions in Hebei brought the total number of existing confirmed cases to 39 in the province.

The entire Gaocheng district of Shijiazhuang in Hebei province was on Wednesday classified as a high-risk area for COVID-19, and three areas in the city of Xingtai, including two residential communities, were designated as medium-risk areas, the National Health Commission said

Among the new confirmed cases, 19 were reported in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang and one in the city of Xingtai, the provincial health commission said on Wednesday.

Also on Tuesday, the province reported 43 asymptomatic cases, two of them were reported in Xingtai and the others were all in Shijiazhuang, the commission said.

Apart from the above local cases, the province also reported five imported asymptomatic cases on Tuesday.

According to the commission, the entire Gaocheng district of Shijiazhuang was on Wednesday classified as a high-risk area for COVID-19, and three areas in the city of Xingtai, including two residential communities, were designated as medium-risk areas.

In response to the latest situation, the Hebei Airport Management Holding Co., Ltd. said on Wednesday that every passenger departing from the Shijiazhuang airport should present his or her negative nucleic acid test result acquired within 72 hours of boarding.

Shijiazhuang airport shuttle bus services have been suspended, as have the operations of the city's passenger coach terminal station, according to their operating company, Jiyun Group Co, Ltd.

Traffic control measures have been taken on the Shijiazhuang sections of multiple expressways, with vehicles forbidden to enter the expressways from the gates of the city. Personnel will be stationed on both sides of the gates to dissuade vehicles from passing through, said the Hebei Expressway Group Limited.

Wang Jianfeng, deputy secretary-general of the Shijiazhuang municipal government, said on Tuesday at a press conference that the city has organized 104 teams to conduct epidemiological investigations, covering more than 18,000 people from the Xinhua and Gaocheng districts, Zhengding county and Xinle city.

By Tuesday, there were 39 confirmed cases hospitalized in Hebei, with four in severe conditions. In total, Hebei has recorded 378 locally transmitted confirmed cases and 34 imported cases.

There are 78 locally transmitted and five imported asymptomatic cases under medical observation, the commission said.