China reports 1,982 more confirmed cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia

Chinese health authorities announced on Friday that 1,982 new confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) were reported in 31 provincial-level regions by the end of Thursday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 9,692. The National Health Commission said in its daily report that a total of 213 people died of the disease and 171 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery.

The commission said 1,527 patients were in critical condition and a total of 15,238 people were suspected of being infected with the virus. A total of 113,579 close contacts had been traced, the commission said, adding that among them, 4,201 were discharged from medical observation on Thursday, with 102,427 others being still under medical observation. By the end of Thursday, 12 confirmed cases had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, seven in the Macao Special Administrative Region, and nine in Taiwan.