BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- A total of 14,376 patients infected with the novel coronavirus had been discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of Tuesday, Chinese health authority said Wednesday.

Tuesday saw 1,824 people walk out of hospital after recovery, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

By the end of Tuesday, a total of 2,004 people had died of the disease and 74,185 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in China.

The commission added that 11,977 patients remained in severe condition, and 5,248 people were suspected of being infected with the virus. The commission said 574,418 close contacts had been traced, adding that among them, 25,014 were discharged from medical observation Tuesday, with 135,881 others still under medical observation.

By the end of Tuesday, 62 confirmed cases including one death had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 22 in Taiwan including one death.