A courier disinfects parcels before delivering them in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, on Sunday. (WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY)

BEIJING- The Chinese mainland on Monday reported 55 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, of whom 42 were locally transmitted and the rest arrived from outside the mainland, the National Health Commission said Tuesday.

Of the locally transmitted cases, 40 were reported in north China's Hebei province, and one each in Beijing and Heilongjiang province, the commission said in its daily report.

Overall, Hebei reported a total of 326 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and 234 asymptomatic cases from Jan 2 to 10 am Tuesday, Vice Governor Xu Jianpei said on Tuesday.

Of the confirmed cases, 304 were reported in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang, 21 in the city of Xingtai, and one in the city of Langfang, Xu said at a press briefing.

A total of 81 asymptomatic cases were confirmed Monday, of whom 10 arrived from outside the mainland. On the same day, five asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed ones.

Jilin, Heilongjiang and Hebei reported 3, 36, 26 new asymptomatic infections repectively

No new suspected cases or deaths related to the disease were reported, said the commission, adding that 31 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals following recovery on Monday.

READ MORE: Expert: Hebei outbreak can be contained in a month

By the end of Monday, a total of 4,443 imported cases had been reported on the mainland. Among them, 4,152 had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, and 291 remained hospitalized. No deaths had been reported among the imported cases.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland reached 87,591 by Monday, including 697 patients still receiving treatment, 18 of whom were in severe condition.

A total of 82,260 patients had been discharged following recovery on the mainland, and 4,634 had died of the disease, according to the commission.

There were no suspected COVID-19 cases on the mainland on Monday, and 27,830 close contacts remained under medical observation.

Monday saw 81 asymptomatic cases newly reported, of whom 10 arrived from outside the mainland

A total of 565 asymptomatic cases were under medical observation, of whom 256 arrived from outside the mainland.

ALSO READ: Experts close in on origins of Hebei cases

By the end of Monday, 9,283 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 159 deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 46 cases in the Macao SAR, and 834 cases, including seven deaths, in Taiwan.

A total of 8,468 COVID-19 patients in the Hong Kong SAR had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, 46 in the Macao SAR, and 726 in Taiwan.