BEIJING, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authority said Saturday it received reports of 19 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland on Friday, of which 18 were imported.

The new domestic case was reported in Hubei Province, the National Health Commission said.

Also on Friday, four deaths, all in Hubei Province, and 11 new suspected cases, all imported ones, were reported on the mainland. According to the commission, 180 people were discharged from hospitals after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 48 to 331.

As of Friday, the mainland had reported a total of 888 imported cases. Of the cases, 190 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 698 were being treated with 17 in severe conditions, said the commission.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 81,639 by Friday, including 1,562 patients who were still being treated, 76,751 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,326 people who died of the disease.

The commission said that 114 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus, all of whom were from abroad.

It added that 18,286 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Friday, 2,346 people were discharged from medical observation.

Also on Friday, 64 new asymptomatic COVID-19 cases were reported on the mainland, including 26 imported ones. Three asymptomatic cases, two of which were imported ones, were re-categorized as confirmed infections, and 58 were discharged from medical observation including six imported cases, according to the commission.

The commission said 1,030 asymptomatic cases were still under medical observation, including 239 from abroad.

By Friday, 845 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 43 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 348 in Taiwan including five deaths.

A total of 173 patients in Hong Kong, 10 in Macao and 50 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.  ■