BEIJING — China has stepped up efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Here are the latest developments:

— The situation on the containment of the novel coronavirus in Hubei, the hard-hit Chinese province, has been further improving, a local health official said on March 5.

The daily count of newly cured and discharged cases in the province has exceeded the number of newly confirmed cases for 15 consecutive days since Feb 19, said Li Yang, deputy director of the Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at a press conference.

— China has rolled out a slew of supportive measures to help foreign trade enterprises resume production and reduce the fallout from the outbreak, Li Xingqian, director of the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce, told an online press conference March 5.

All of the key foreign trade firms in Zhejiang and Tianjin have resumed operations, while over 70 percent of foreign trade companies in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Shandong and Chongqing have resumed production.

— Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic, is gradually resuming medical treatment for patients who suffer from other diseases. Patients, including those with emergency or severe chronic diseases, can make an appointment at designated hospitals in Wuhan to receive medical services.

Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, many hospitals in Wuhan had to stop providing normal medical services to admit the surging number of patients infected with COVID-19, which has caused more than 2,300 deaths.

— Chinese researchers are studying the use of stem cell technology in the treatment of people critically ill with the novel coronavirus disease, according to the Science and Technology Daily.

Four COVID-19 patients who received stem cell treatment while in a serious condition have been discharged from hospital after recovery, and the clinical trial of the therapy will be further expanded, Vice Minister of Science and Technology Xu Nanping, was quoted by the paper as saying.

— Northeast China's city of Shenyang witnessed the online signing of 117 major projects worth over 267 billion yuan ($38.5 billion) on March 5. The city government also said over 98 percent of large-scale companies have resumed operations so far.

—The People's Bank of China said on March 5 that more than 7 million payment transactions related to the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic had been handled through its payment and clearing system, involving an aggregate amount of 6 trillion yuan (about $865 billion) as of March 2.

— Procuratorial organs across China had prosecuted 1,144 suspects on charges over 962 cases related to the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic by March 3, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

— Chinese doctors have proved for the first time that the novel coronavirus can cause damage to patients' central nervous system. Doctors from Beijing Ditan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, a designated institution treating COVID-19, announced on March 5 that they have cured a male patient whose cerebrospinal fluid had the virus.

Liu Jingyuan, ICU director of the hospital and attending doctor of the patient, said that once a COVID-19 patient is found to have disorders of consciousness, medical staff should consider the possibility of nervous system infections and carry out cerebrospinal fluid tests in time, to avoid delayed diagnosis and further reduce the mortality rate of critically ill patients.

— Foxconn is gradually resuming production capacity at its major manufacturing base in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province. Its production in the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone had been slowed due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in January, affecting the international supply chain.

— Chinese health authority said March 5 it received reports of 139 newly confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 31 deaths on March 4 on the Chinese mainland.

All the deaths were in Hubei province, according to the National Health Commission.

Meanwhile, 143 newly suspected cases were reported, said the commission.

— A total of 2,189 patients of the novel coronavirus were discharged from hospital after recovery March 4 on the Chinese mainland, the National Health Commission said March 5.

In total, 52,045 patients had been discharged from hospital by the end of March 4, the commission said in its daily report.

— Hubei province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, reported 134 newly confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 31 new deaths on March 4, the provincial health commission said on March 5.

The latest report brought the total confirmed cases in the hard-hit province to 67,466 and that of total deaths to 2,902.

Wuhan, the provincial capital, reported 131 confirmed cases and 23 deaths on March 4. The city has registered 49,671 confirmed cases and 2,305 deaths.