BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authority said Wednesday it received reports of 24 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 22 deaths on the Chinese mainland on Tuesday.

All the 22 deaths were in Hubei Province, according to the National Health Commission.

Meanwhile, 31 new suspected cases were reported, said the commission.

Also on Tuesday, 1,578 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 302 to 4,492.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,778 by the end of Tuesday, including 16,145 patients who were still being treated, 61,475 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,158 people who died of the disease.

The commission said that 285 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

The commission added that 14,607 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Tuesday, 3,235 people were discharged from medical observation.

Also on Tuesday, 10 imported cases of novel coronavirus infection were reported on the mainland. Among them, six were reported in Beijing, two in Shanghai, one in Shandong Province and one in Gansu Province. By the end of Tuesday, 79 imported cases had been reported, said the commission.

By the end of Tuesday, 120 confirmed cases including three deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 47 in Taiwan including one death.

A total of 65 patients in Hong Kong, 10 in Macao and 17 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospital after recovery.  ■