BEIJING — China has stepped up efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Here are the latest developments:

— Chinese health authority said on Feb 24 it received reports of 409 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 150 deaths on Feb 23 from 31 provincial-level regions on the mainland.

Among the deaths, 149 were in Hubei province and one in Hainan province, according to the National Health Commission.

Another 620 new suspected cases were reported on Feb 23, and the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 77,150 by the end of Feb 23, and 2,592 people had died of the disease.

— China's daily number of newly cured and discharged novel coronavirus patients has surpassed that of new confirmed infections for the sixth consecutive day.

Feb 23 saw 1,846 people walk out of hospital after recovery, much higher than the number of the same day's new confirmed infections, which was 409.

A total of 24,734 patients infected with the novel coronavirus had been discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of Feb 23.

— The China-World Health Organization joint expert team visited Hubei province over the weekend to conduct field investigations.

— Chinese lawmakers on Feb 24 started deliberating a draft decision on thoroughly banning illegal wildlife trade and eliminating the bad habits of eating wild animals to safeguard people's lives and health.

— The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, said on Feb 24 it will release more targeted tax and fee cuts to aid micro, small and medium-sized businesses in tiding over difficulties as they were among the hardest hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak.