BEIJING — A total of 1,996 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals on the Chinese mainland on April 8, up from 1,867 on April 7, the National Health Commission said on April 9.

The commission said in its daily report that 23,342 close contacts were discharged from medical observation on the mainland on April 8.

Altogether 135,218 patients had been discharged from hospitals across the mainland after recovery by the end of April 8, according to the report.

The Chinese mainland reported 1,334 new locally-transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases on April 8, down from 1,540 on April 7, the report said.

Of the local confirmed cases reported on April 8, 1,015 were in Shanghai, 248 in Jilin, 13 in Zhejiang, and six in Beijing. The rest were reported in 12 provincial-level regions.

Besides, a total of 16 new imported COVID-19 cases were reported across the mainland.

April 8 also saw 23,815 new asymptomatic carriers on the Chinese mainland, including 23,737 local ones and 78 imported ones, said the commission.

Among the asymptomatic carriers, 22,609 were reported in Shanghai and 706 in Jilin.