BEIJING — Chinese health authority on Feb 25 said it received reports of 508 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 71 deaths on Feb 24 from 31 provincial-level regions on the mainland.

Among the deaths, 68 were in Hubei province, two in Shandong province and one in Guangdong province, according to the National Health Commission.

Another 530 new suspected cases were reported on Feb 24, said the commission.

Also on Feb 24, 2,589 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 789 to 9,126.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 77,658 by the end of Feb 24, and 2,663 people had died of the disease.

The commission added that 2,824 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

A total of 27,323 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery.

The commission said 641,742 close contacts had been traced, adding that among them, 15,758 were discharged from medical observation on Feb 24, with 87,902 others still under medical observation.

By the end of Feb 24, 81 confirmed cases including two deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 30 in Taiwan including one death.

Nineteen patients in Hong Kong, six in Macao and five in Taiwan have been discharged from hospital after recovery.