BEIJING — Here are the latest developments on the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China:

— The National Health Commission said on March 11 it received reports of 24 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 22 deaths on the Chinese mainland on March 10. All the 22 deaths were in Hubei province. A total of 1,578 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospital after recovery on March 10.

— The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,778 by the end of March 10, including 16,145 patients who were still being treated, 61,475 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,158 people who died of the disease.

— The Chinese mainland on March 10 reported 10 new imported COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of imported cases to 79.

— Hubei province reported 13 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on March 10, all of which were in Wuhan, the provincial capital and epicenter of the outbreak, the provincial health commission said on March 11. The province reported 22 deaths on March 10, 19 of which were in Wuhan. The latest report brought the total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the hard-hit province to 67,773.

— As of March 10, Hubei had seen no new confirmed COVID-19 cases for six consecutive days in its 16 cities and prefectures other than Wuhan. The daily number of new confirmed cases in the province has been kept in double-digit for five consecutive days and continued to drop.

— The second batch of Taiwan compatriots stranded in Hubei headed home on the evening of March 10, after a mainland airliner flew the first batch of 247 people back to the island on Feb 3, according to an official with the Hubei provincial Taiwan affairs office. As of March 8, a total of 1,169 Taiwan compatriots stranded in Hubei had applied for assistance to return home.

— The coastal province of Shandong in East China on March 11 resumed inter-city bus services within the province after the novel coronavirus outbreak had caused the suspension of the passenger transport.

— High school students who are going to graduate this year will resume school on March 16 in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus had delayed their new semester.

— Construction on the Aratax water conservation project has resumed in Xinjiang. About 678 construction and management personnel of the project have resumed work, and a total of 1,100 people are expected to return to work by March 15. With a total water storage of nearly 2.25 billion cubic meters, the reservoir is the largest water conservation project under construction in Xinjiang.

— Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, a neighbor of the epidemic center of Hubei province, downgraded its emergency response to the COVID-19 outbreak from level I to level II starting on March 11. The city had reported no confirmed coronavirus cases for 14 consecutive days by March 9.

On Jan 24, Chongqing activated the highest level of public health emergency response to control the outbreak. It has reported a total of 576 confirmed cases.

— Beijing has tightened up quarantine checks at airports and epidemic prevention measures in foreign communities, as new coronavirus infection cases rise from abroad.

— East China's Zhejiang province on March 11 sent 3.86 million pieces, or 4,556 boxes, of protective equipment to help overseas Chinese in Italy fight the novel coronavirus.

— Central China's Hubei province announced differentiated business and production resumption plans based on the epidemic situations of the counties in the province and continued to postpone the opening of schools.

Wuhan allows businesses that support the supply of medical resources, daily necessities, and agricultural materials to return to work. Enterprises that are related to the national economy, people's livelihood, and the global industrial chain are also encouraged to gradually resume operations with approval.