File photo: Xinhua

BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland reported 17 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Thursday outside Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak, down from 890 on Feb. 3, according to the National Health Commission Friday.

Of them, 16 cases, including 11 in Gansu, four in Beijing and one in Shanghai, were imported from outside the Chinese mainland. The Chinese mainland saw a total of 36 imported COVID-19 cases as of the end of Thursday, showed the commission figures.

The commission said it received reports of 143 new confirmed cases Thursday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, including 126 from Hubei.