(Yicai Global) Feb. 23 --  Chinese health authority said it received reports of 648 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 97 deaths on yesterday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

Among the deaths, 96 were in Hubei Province and one in Guangdong Province, according to the National Health Commission issued data today.

Another 882 new suspected cases were reported yesterday, said the commission.

2,230 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 509 to 10,968.

The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 76,936 by the end of yesterday, and 2,442 people had died of the disease.

The commission added that 4,148 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

A total of 22,888 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery.

The commission said 628,517 close contacts had been traced, adding that among them, 22,128 were discharged from medical observation Saturday, with 106,089 others still under medical observation.

By the end of Saturday, 69 confirmed cases including two deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 26 in Taiwan including one death.

Eleven patients in Hong Kong, six in Macao and two in Taiwan have been discharged from hospital after recovery.