国内英语新闻:Chinese mainland reports 2 new confirmed COVID-19 cases

BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authority said Thursday that it received reports of two new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Wednesday, of which one was imported and reported in Guangdong Province.

The other case was domestically transmitted in Shanghai, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

No deaths related to the disease were reported Wednesday, according to the commission.

One suspected case, which was imported from abroad, was reported on Wednesday in Shanghai.

On Wednesday, five people were discharged from hospitals after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by one to eight.

As of Wednesday, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,967, including 84 patients who were still being treated, and 78,249 people who had been discharged after recovery.

Altogether 4,634 people had died of the disease, the commission said.

By Wednesday, the mainland had reported a total of 1,709 imported cases. Of the cases, 1,666 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 43 remained hospitalized with two in severe conditions. No deaths from the imported cases had been reported.

The commission said seven people were suspected of being infected with the virus on Wednesday, all were imported from overseas.

According to the commission, 4,864 close contacts were still under medical observation after 308 people were discharged from medical observation Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, 31 new asymptomatic cases, including three from overseas, were reported on the mainland. No cases were re-categorized as confirmed cases, and 24 asymptomatic cases were discharged from medical observation.

The commission said 375 asymptomatic cases, including 29 from overseas, were still under medical observation.

By Wednesday, 1,055 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 440 in Taiwan including seven deaths.

A total of 1,026 patients in Hong Kong, 45 in Macao, and 402 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.