Volunteer Shen Xiaoping (R) helps a passenger register for his health information at the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station in Shanghai, east China, March 5, 2020. (Photo by Wang Xiang/Xinhua)

The latest number is significantly down from the peak of over 15,000.

BEIJING, March 6  -- Chinese health authority said Friday it received reports of 143 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 30 deaths on Thursday on the Chinese mainland.

Among the deaths, 29 were in Hubei Province and one in Hainan Province, according to the National Health Commission.

Meanwhile, 102 new suspected cases were reported, said the commission.

Also on Thursday, 1,681 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 215 to 5,737.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,552 by the end of Thursday, including 23,784 patients who were still being treated, 53,726 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,042 people who had died of the disease.

The commission said that 482 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

The commission added 29,896 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Thursday, 5,457 people were discharged from medical observation.

Also on Thursday, 16 imported cases of novel coronavirus infection were reported on the mainland, including 11 in Gansu Province, four in Beijing and one in Shanghai. By the end of Thursday, 36 imported cases had been reported, said the commission.

By the end of Thursday, 104 confirmed cases including two deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 44 in Taiwan, including one death.

Forty-six patients in Hong Kong, nine in Macao and 12 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospital after recovery.