The Hainan provincial health authorities announced on Saturday that 8 new cases of infection caused by the novel coronavirus were confirmed on the previous day, bringing the total confirmed cases in the tropical island province to 57 by midnight Friday.

The provincial health commission said among the 57 confirmed cases, nine were in serious condition, one dead and one discharged from the hospital. The victims were aged between 3 months to 80 and most of them came from Hubei province.

Haikou, the provincial capital, has reported 11 cases of infection. Sanya, a coastal tourist city at the southern tip of the island, reported 15 cases. Meanwhile, Wanning at the eastern coast and Danzhou at the northwestern coast, have reported eight cases and six cases of infection, respectively.

As of midnight on Jan 31, the local authorities have traced 1,549 people who had close contact with confirmed cases. Of them, 489 have been removed from medical observation, with 1,060 still undergoing home-based or centralized medical observation, according to the provincial health commission.