BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authority said Sunday it received reports of 44 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 27 deaths on Saturday on the Chinese mainland.

All the 27 deaths were in Hubei Province, the center of the epidemic, according to the National Health Commission (NHC).

Meanwhile, 84 new suspected cases were reported, said the commission.

Also on Saturday, 1,661 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 225 to 5,264.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,695 by the end of Saturday, including 20,533 patients who were still being treated, 57,065 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,097 people who had died of the disease.

The commission said that 458 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

The commission added that 23,074 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Saturday, 4,021 people were discharged from medical observation.

Also on Saturday, three imported cases of novel coronavirus infection were reported on the mainland, including two in Beijing and one in Gansu Province. By the end of Saturday, 63 imported cases had been reported, said the commission.

By the end of Saturday, 109 confirmed cases including two deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 45 in Taiwan including one death.

Fifty-five patients in Hong Kong, 10 in Macao and 13 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospital after recovery.

The Chinese mainland excluding Hubei Province Saturday reported no new indigenous cases for the first time, with each of the three new cases imported from outside the country, said Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the NHC, at a press conference.

The number of new confirmed cases in the city of Wuhan dropped to 41 Saturday while the whole province excluding Wuhan had reported no new confirmed cases for three consecutive days, Mi noted.

"The latest figures indicate that the current prevention and control measures are scientifically sound and effective, and the epidemic situation keeps improving," Mi said, warning against risks of imported cases.