BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authority said Saturday it received reports of 99 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 28 deaths on Friday on the Chinese mainland.

The 28 deaths were all reported in Hubei Province, according to the National Health Commission.

Meanwhile, 99 new suspected cases were reported, said the commission.

Also on Friday, 1,678 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 248 to 5,489.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,651 by the end of Friday, including 22,177 patients who were still being treated, 55,404 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,070 people who had died of the disease.

The commission said that 502 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

The commission added 26,730 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Friday, 4,773 people were discharged from medical observation.

Also on Friday, 24 imported cases of novel coronavirus infection were reported on the mainland, including 17 in Gansu Province, three in Beijing, three in Shanghai and one in Guangdong Province. By the end of Friday, 60 imported cases had been reported, said the commission.

By the end of Friday, 107 confirmed cases including two deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 45 in Taiwan, including one death.

Fifty-one patients in Hong Kong, 10 in Macao and 12 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospital after recovery.