BEIJING — No new domestically transmitted cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported on the Chinese mainland on March 22, the Chinese health authority said on March 23.

The National Health Commission received reports of 39 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland on March 22, all of which were imported.

Of them, 10 were reported in Beijing and Shanghai respectively, and six in the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong respectively. The provinces of Shandong and Gansu both reported two cases and the provinces of Zhejiang and Henan, and Chongqing municipality each reported one. By the end of March 22, 353 imported cases had been reported, said the commission.

Also on March 22, nine deaths and 47 new suspected cases were reported on the mainland with all of the deaths reported in Hubei province.

On March 22, 459 people were discharged from the hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 96 to 1,749.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 81,093 by the end of March 22, including 5,120 patients who were still being treated, 72,703 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,270 people who died of the disease.

The commission said that 136 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

The commission added that 10,701 close contacts were still under medical observation. On March 22, 661 people were discharged from medical observation.

By the end of March 22, 317 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 21 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 169 in Taiwan including two deaths.

A total of 100 patients in Hong Kong, 10 in Macao and 28 in Taiwan had been discharged from the hospital after recovery.