China coronavirus toll increases to 2,442

The National Health Commission said that it received reports of 648 new confirmed casesand 97 deaths on Saturday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, reports Xinhua news agency.

Among the deaths, 96 were reported in Hubei province and one in Guangdong.

Another 882 new suspected cases were reported on Saturday, said the Commission.

As of Saturday, a total of 22,888 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 509 to 10,968.

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

The figures announced on Sunday amounted to an increase of 264 new cases and a drop of 10 new deaths from Saturday's figures.

As of Sunday morning, the number of confirmed cases outside China were reported in Japan (751), South Korea (556), Singapore (89), Hong Kong (70), Italy (51), Thailand (35), the US (35), Iran (28), Taiwan (26), Australia (23), Malaysia (22), Germany (16), Vietnam (16), France (12), the UAE (11), Macau (10), the UK (nine), Canada (nine), India (three), the Philippines (three), Russia (two), Spain (two), Israel (one), Egypt (one), Lebanon (one), Cambodia (one), Finland (one), Nepal (one), Sri Lanka (one), Sweden (one) and Belgium (one), according to figures published by the South China Morning Post.

The deaths outside China were recorded in Iran (six), South Korea (four), Japan (three), Hong Kong (two), Italy (two), France (one), Taiwan (one) and the Philippines (one).