• The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 77,150 by the end of February 23. A total of 2,592 people have died of COVID-19, and altogether 24,734 people have been discharged from hospital after recovery. And 24 provincial-level regions record zero new infections.

• China's daily newly recovered COVID-19 patients outnumber new infections for the sixth consecutive day.

• Chinese lawmakers on Monday started deliberating a draft decision on thoroughly banning illegal wildlife trade and eliminating the bad habits of eating wild animals.

• Chinese authorities have released a document listing measures to strengthen protection and care for medical workers.

• As of the end of Sunday, Chongqing had reported a total of 575 confirmed cases, combined by 234 currently hospitalized (21 severe cases and ten critical cases), six deaths, and 335 discharged patients. And Sunday had two newly confirmed cases and seven more patients recovered and discharged from the hospital.

• A total of 518 migrant workers from 30 districts and counties of Chongqing took a chartered train on Sunday morning to return to work in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, in eastern China.

• The safety of the online catering service has been supervised.

Chongqing- As of 24:00 local time on February 23, Chongqing had reported 234 confirmed cases currently hospitalized (21 in severe condition and ten in critical condition), six deaths, and 335 discharged patients after recovery, according to the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission Monday. All those cases had totaled 575 confirmed cases infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as of the end of Sunday in Chongqing. And Sunday had two newly confirmed cases and seven more patients recovered and discharged from the hospital.

A total of 23,200 people who had close contacts with COVID-19 patients have been traced, 22,080 people have been released from medical observations, and 1,120 people are under medical observations.

The first chartered train for 518 migrant workers in Chongqing going back to work

A total of 518 migrant workers from 30 districts and counties of Chongqing took a chartered train on Sunday morning to return to work in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, in eastern China. It was the first batch of migrant workers in Chongqing to return to work by this kind of train.  According to the Chongqing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, these migrant workers got on the train from two stations of Dianjiang and Chongqing North Station.

After arriving in Shaoxing, relevant local departments will provide a "point to point" service and directly send them to the working place.  Shaoxing covers relevant fees of chartered vehicles and high-speed rail tickets.  At the same time, coordinated efforts by human resources authority and local health departments have ensured the timely issuance of health certificates for these migrant workers.

In addition, the first chartered flight of employees returning to work outside Chongqing was launched. On February 23, the flight MU2396 carrying 145 workers from Yuechi County, Sichuan Province, took off from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport.

Safety supervision of online catering service

During the epidemic period, there are mainly five third-party online catering service platforms operating in Chongqing with about 3,500 service providers, according to Sunday's press conference on epidemic prevention and control.

To ensure the safety of online catering, Chongqing's market supervision authority guides and urges the online catering service platform to fully implement the responsibilities of food safety as well as epidemic prevention and control. 

Specifically, the qualifications of online catering service providers and their menu information have been checked. All delivery personnel must pass a health checkup and hold a valid health certificate following the requirements, and their health status must be updated every morning. Couriers should wear masks and have other preventive actions. The order information will be recorded on the platform, including the name of the food, the order time, the delivery staff, the delivery time, the delivery address, etc., and relevant information shall be kept for at least six months. "Contactless" service is encouraged.

The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 77,150 by the end of Sunday, and 2,592 people had died of the disease, according to the National Health Commission (NHC) Monday. A total of 24,734 people had been discharged from the hospital after recovery. By the end of Sunday, 74 confirmed cases, including two deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), ten confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 28 in Taiwan, including one death. Twelve patients in Hong Kong, six in Macao, and five in Taiwan have been discharged from hospital after recovery.

NHC also reported on Monday that 24 provincial-level regions record zero new infections. And China's daily newly recovered COVID-19 patients have outnumbered new confirmed cases for the sixth consecutive day.

Xinhua news reported that Chinese lawmakers on Monday started deliberating a draft decision on thoroughly banning illegal wildlife trade and eliminating the bad habits of eating wild animals to safeguard people's lives and health. The draft decision was submitted to Monday's bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

In addition, Chinese authorities have released a document listing measures to strengthen protection and care for medical workers, as part of efforts to fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak. Noting the anti-virus fight has entered a critical stage, the document urged all departments to attach great importance to the protection and care for medical staff who are facing heavy tasks, high infection risks, and great work pressure.