BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland on Thursday reported 144 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, of whom 135 were locally transmitted and the rest arrived from outside the mainland, the National Health Commission said Friday.

Of the locally transmitted cases, 90 were reported in Hebei, 43 in Heilongjiang, and one each in Guangxi and Shaanxi, the commission said in its daily report.

No deaths related to the disease were reported, and one suspected case arriving from outside the mainland was reported in Shanghai on Thursday.

By the end of Thursday, a total of 4,474 imported cases had been reported on the mainland. Among them, 4,201 had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, and 273 remained hospitalized. No deaths had been reported among the imported cases.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland reached 87,988 by Thursday, including 1,001 patients still receiving treatment, 26 of whom were in severe condition.

A total of 82,352 patients had been discharged from hospitals following recovery on the mainland, and 4,635 had died of the disease, according to the commission.

There was one suspected COVID-19 case on the mainland on Thursday, and 31,912 close contacts remained under medical observation.

Thursday saw 66 asymptomatic cases newly reported, of whom 11 arrived from outside the mainland. On the same day, 20 asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed ones.

A total of 618 asymptomatic cases were under medical observation, of whom 245 arrived from outside the mainland.

By the end of Thursday, 9,414 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 161 deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 46 cases in the Macao SAR, and 842 cases, including seven deaths, in Taiwan.

A total of 8,631 COVID-19 patients in the Hong Kong SAR had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, 46 in the Macao SAR, and 731 in Taiwan.