The Chinese mainland has confirmed on Friday 2,641 new cases of the novel coronavirus with 143 deaths reported.Central China’s Hubei Province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, reported 2,420 new confirmed cases, including 1,138 clinically confirmed, on Friday, bringing the total number in the province to 54,406, of which 16,522 were clinically confirmed.

139 more deaths were also reported in Hubei, while 912 patients were discharged from hospital after full recovery.About 1,716 medical workers have been infected by the coronavirus nationwide as of February 11 and six of them have lost their lives.Meanwhile, North China’s Tianjin Municipality introduced a ban on the eating of wild animals on Friday.