China reports 1,459 more confirmed cases of new coronavirus pneumonia on Tuesday

Chinese health authorities announced on Wednesday that 1,459 new confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) were reported in 31 provincial-level regions by the end of Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 5,974. The National Health Commission said in its daily report that a total of 132 people died of the disease and 9,239 people were suspected of being infected with the virus. The commission also said 1,239 patients were in critical conditions, with 263 patients becoming seriously ill. A total of 103 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery, with 43 being discharged.

A total of 65,537 close contacts had been traced, the commission said, adding that among them, 1,604 were discharged from medical observation, with 59,990 others still under medical observation. By the end of Tuesday, eight confirmed cases had been reported in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, seven in the Macao Special Administrative Region and eight in Taiwan.