A total of 24,324 reports of confirmed novel coronavirus cases have been received till date in China while the death toll from the virus rallied to 490 on Wednesday, said the country’s National Health Commission (NHC).

As at the close of day on February 4, 892 patients had been cured and discharged from hospital, NHC added, noting there still remained 23,260 suspected cases and 3,219 patients in serious condition.

So far, 252,154 people have been identified as having had close contact with infected patients. A total of 185,555 are now under medical observation. On Feb 4, 18,457 people were freed from observation.

Thirty-nine confirmed infections had been reported in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan province: 18 in Hong Kong (1 death), 10 in Macao and 11 in Taiwan.

As of February 4, 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland as well as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps reported 3,887 new cases of confirmed infections (including 3,156 in Hubei province), 3,971 new cases of suspected infections (including 1,957 in Hubei province), 431 new serious cases (including 377 in Hubei province), and 65 deaths (including 65 in Hubei province). A total of 262 patients were released from hospitals after being cured, including 125 in Hubei province.

Meanwhile, two US airlines suspended flights to Hong Kong, which has confirmed about 17 cases following the first fatality, reported Reuters, noting that 10 cases were confirmed on a quarantined Japanese cruise ship.