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

— Chinese health authority said on March 9 it received reports of 40 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 22 deaths on March 8 on the Chinese mainland. Among the deaths, 21 were in Hubei province and one in Guangdong province.

— The Chinese mainland on March 8 reported four new imported cases of the novel coronavirus disease, bringing the total number of imported cases to 67. All of the four cases were reported in northwest China's Gansu province.

— A total of 1,535 patients of the novel coronavirus disease were discharged from hospital after recovery on March 8 on the Chinese mainland. In total, 58,600 patients had been discharged from hospital by the end of March 8.

— Hubei province reported 36 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 21 deaths on March 8. All the new infections were in Wuhan, the provincial capital and epicenter of the outbreak.

The latest report brought the total confirmed cases in the hard-hit province to 67,743.