[Getty/Kyodo]

BEIJING - The number of deaths in mainland China from coronavirus infections has risen by 35 to 2,870, with the tally of confirmed cases reaching 79,824, the country's health authorities said Sunday.

Among the deaths in the 24 hours to the end of Saturday, 34 occurred in the central province of Hubei, the epicenter of the public health crisis, according to the National Health Commission.

Of the new 573 newly confirmed infections, 570 were in Hubei, mainly its capital Wuhan.

The national total of infections includes 41,625 patients who had been discharged by Saturday after recovery.

Local governments are stepping up quarantine measures for immigrants, saying that while new infections outside Hubei Province are on the decline, infections are expanding overseas.

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Beijing on Sunday announced that two Chinese men returning from Iran were confirmed infected on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a Civil Aviation Bureau official said that the spread of infections in Japan and South Korea is expected to lead to a reduction in the number of flights between China and each of those countries.

The total number of flights between China and South Korea, currently numbering 320, will be reduced to 276, the official said. The total number of weekly flights between China and Japan, which has already dropped to 380, will be further cut to 263.

In neighboring North Korea, state media reported Sunday that around 7,000 people in three provinces have been placed under medical supervision to prevent an outbreak in the country, which has yet to publicly confirm a single case.

According to the Rodong Sinmun, some 3,000 people in North Pyongan Province bordering China, 2,420 in South Pyongan Province and 1,500 more in Gangwon Province are being medically monitored.