BEIJING, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authority said Tuesday it received reports of 125 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 31 deaths on Monday on the Chinese mainland.

All the deaths were in Hubei Province, according to the National Health Commission.

Meanwhile, 129 new suspected cases were reported, said the commission.

Also on Monday, 2,742 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 304 to 6,806.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,151 by the end of Monday, including 30,004 patients who were still being treated, 47,204 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 2,943 people who had died of the disease.

The commission said that 587 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

The commission added 40,651 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Monday, 7,650 people were discharged from medical observation.

By the end of Monday, 100 confirmed cases including two deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 41 in Taiwan, including one death.

Thirty-six patients in Hong Kong, eight in Macao and 12 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospital after recovery.  ■