BEIJING (REUTERS) - Mainland China reported 31 new confirmed coronavirus cases, including two locally transmitted infections, the country's National Health Commission said on Friday (April 3).

Mainland China also reported four new deaths as of Thursday, all in Wuhan, the city where the outbreak began, the commission said in a statement.

The total number of infections now stands at 81,620 and 3,322 deaths have been reported from mainland China to date.

The commission said 60 new asymptomatic coronavirus patients were also reported on Thursday.

Beijing has pushed the country's industries to go back to work as the epidemic eases, hoping for a quick recovery from what many analysts expect to have been a deep contraction for China's economy in the first quarter.

Officials have also eased the total lockdown of Wuhan and allowed some its 11 million inhabitants to go outside for the first time since Jan. 23, though they were still not able to leave the city.

The capital of central Hubei province has been the hardest hit by the virus, with 50,007 cases reported.

The city is scheduled to allow people to travel outside the city on April 8, and volunteers in hazmat suits have been spraying public areas with disinfectant in preparation for an increase in activity.