A worker (front right) wearing a protective suit as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus stands next to passengers (left) at the New China International Exhibition Centre, near Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing on March 16, 2020. (NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP)

The Chinese mainland reported 46 new confirmed novel coronavirus pneumonia cases on Saturday, with 45 imported from abroad, China's top health authority said on Sunday.

Of the 45 new imported cases, 14 were in Shanghai, 13 in Beijing, seven in Guangdong province, four in Fujian province, two in Jiangsu province, and one each in the provinces of Hebei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Shandong and Sichuan

The mainland also reported 45 new suspected cases and six new deaths, with five of them in Hubei province, the area hit hardest by the epidemic, according to the National Health Commission.

Of the 45 new imported cases, 14 were in Shanghai, 13 in Beijing, seven in Guangdong province, four in Fujian province, two in Jiangsu province, and one each in the provinces of Hebei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Shandong and Sichuan.

They took the total number of imported cases to 314 by the end of Saturday.

READ MORE: Mainland reports zero increase in local COVID-19 cases

Guangdong reported one new locally confirmed case, which was related to an imported case.

As of Saturday, the Chinese mainland had reported 81,054 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia, with 72,244 patients having recovered and 3,261 deaths.

Hubei reported no new confirmed patients for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday.

In response to some online claims that certain local communities in Wuhan and Tongji Hospital had seen newly confirmed patients, the government of Wuhan, Hubei's capital city, said Sunday that data supporting the claim of zero new local infections in recent days were objective and true.

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After checking and verifying data with Tongji Hospital, no new infections at the hospital headquarters or its branches had been found, the government said. No new infections were confirmed in the city's communities, either.

"Wuhan having zero new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia in recent days was based on live data reported directly by medical institutions and disease control departments at all levels. That figure is objective and true," it said.