BEIJING, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authority Monday said it received reports of 2,048 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 105 deaths on Sunday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

Among the deaths, 100 were in Hubei Province, three in Henan, and two in Guangdong, according to the National Health Commission.

Another 1,563 new suspected cases were reported Sunday, said the commission.

Also on Sunday, 1,425 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 628 to 10,644.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="900"] Staff of a catering company prepare meals for frontline medical workers in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 16, 2020. Eight catering companies in Shijiazhuan provide free meals for frontline medical workers and their family amid the battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by Liang Zidong/Xinhua)[/caption]

The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 70,548 by the end of Sunday, and 1,770 people had died of the disease.

The commission added that 7,264 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

A total of 10,844 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery.

The commission said 546,016 close contacts had been traced, adding that among them, 28,179 were discharged from medical observation Sunday, with 150,539 others still under medical observation.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="900"] A staff member works in a factory of negative pressure ambulance of SAIC Motor Co., Ltd. in Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 16, 2020. The company rushes to make negative pressure ambulances to meet the needs of hospitals in the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)[/caption]

By the end of Sunday, 57 confirmed cases including one death had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), ten confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 20 in Taiwan including one death.

Two patients in Hong Kong, five in Macao and two in Taiwan have been discharged from hospital after recovery.  ■