BEIJING — Chinese health authority said May 18 that it received reports of seven new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland May 17, of which four were imported cases reported in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Three cases were domestically transmitted, with two reported in Jilin province and one in Shanghai, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

One suspected case from abroad was reported in Shanghai, the commission said.

No deaths related to the disease were reported on May 17, according to the commission.

On May 17, 11 people were discharged from hospitals after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by two to eight.

As of May 17, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,954, including 82 patients who were still being treated, and 78,238 people who had been discharged after recovery.

Altogether 4,634 people had died of the disease, the commission said.

By May 17, the mainland had reported a total of 1,704 imported cases. Of the cases, 1,659 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 45 remained hospitalized with two in severe conditions. No deaths from the imported cases had been reported.

The commission said four people, all from overseas, were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

According to the commission, 4,970 close contacts were still under medical observation after 246 people were discharged from medical observation on May 17.

Also on May 17, 18 new asymptomatic cases including two from abroad were reported on the mainland. No cases were re-categorized as confirmed ones, and 85 asymptomatic cases, including one from overseas, were discharged from medical observation.

The commission said 448 asymptomatic cases, including 31 from overseas, were still under medical observation.

By May 17, 1,055 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 440 in Taiwan including seven deaths.

A total of 1,024 patients in Hong Kong, 44 in Macao, and 395 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.