Chinese health authorities on 12th February said it received reports of 2,015 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 97 deaths from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. With this, the overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland has reached 44,653 by the end of 11th February, and 1,113 people died of the disease.

Among the 97 deaths reported on Tuesday, 94 were in Hubei Province and one in Henan, Hunan and Chongqing respectively, according to China's National Health Commission, reported Xinhua news agency. Another 3,342 new suspected cases were reported February 11, said the commission. Also on February 11, 871 patients became seriously ill, while 744 people were discharged from hospital after recovery.

The commission added that 8,204 patients remained in severe condition, and 16,067 people were suspected of being infected with the virus. A total of 4,740 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery. The commission said 451,462 close contacts had been traced, adding that among them, 30,068 were discharged from medical observation February 11, with 185,037 others still under medical observation.

By the end of February 11, 49 confirmed cases including one death had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 18 in Taiwan. One patient in Macao and one in Taiwan have been discharged from hospital after recovery.