China has announced that 11,791 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection have been recorded and a total of 259 people have died of the disease.
The National Health Commission says 1,795 patients are still in critical condition, and 17,988 people were suspected of being infected with the virus.
A total of 243 people have been discharged from hospital after recovery.
A total of 136,987 close contacts had been traced, the commission said, adding that among them, 6,509 were discharged from medical observation on Friday, with 118,478 others still under medical observation.
By the end of Friday, 13 confirmed cases had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, seven in Macao Special Administrative Region and ten in Taiwan.
