BEIJING — The Chinese mainland on March 16 reported 1,226 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, down from 1,860 on March 15, the National Health Commission said on March 17.

Of the new local infections, 742 were reported in the northeastern province of Jilin, 99 in East China's Fujian province, 83 in the southern province of Guangdong, and 62 in Northeast China's Liaoning province.

More than a dozen other provincial-level regions also saw new locally-transmitted COVID-19 infections, including Beijing, the capital, with four cases.

A total of 91 imported COVID-19 cases were reported on March 16, said the commission in its daily report.

Eight new suspected cases, all arriving from outside the mainland, were reported in Shanghai, said the commission. No deaths from COVID-19 were reported on the day.

March 16 also saw 1,310 asymptomatic cases, including 1,206 local ones, according to the commission.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported on the mainland, both local and imported, had risen to 123,773 by March 16.

Following the recovery of 247 patients on March 16, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases currently undergoing treatment stood at 14,850. A total of 4,636 patients had died of the virus on the mainland since the outbreak of the disease.