BEIJING — The average time from the onset of symptoms of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) to diagnosis was 4.95 days in China, said a health official on Feb 17.

"We have shortened the diagnosis time in order to make early and timely treatment, which is an effective way to improve the recovery rate," said Guo Yanhong with the National Health Commission (NHC) at a daily press conference on the epidemic in Beijing.

Data from the NHC shows that a total of 10,844 COVID-19 patients had been discharged from hospitals after recovery by the end of Feb 16.

The daily new confirmed cases outside Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak, have also dropped for 13 consecutive days.

These figures showed that the current prevention and control work has achieved good results, said Guo.

About 90 percent of the patients are treated with antiviral and symptomatic therapies, said Guo, noting that measures such as ventilatory support, circulatory support and boosting immunity are adopted for better and faster recovery.

The situation in Hubei's capital city of Wuhan has got much better, as the proportion of severe cases among all confirmed cases in the city dropped from 38 percent at the beginning of the outbreak to the current 18 percent, said Guo.

Wuhan had recorded a total of 41,152 confirmed cases by the end of Feb 16, the provincial health commission said on Feb 17.