BEIJING — China has made progress in curing patients of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as it steps up epidemic prevention and control measures and medical reinforcements, a health official said on Feb 22.

In the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, a total of 36,680 confirmed COVID-19 patients were still being treated in hospitals on Feb 21, compared with the peak number of 38,020 on Feb 18, said Mi Feng, spokesperson for the National Health Commission (NHC), at a press conference.

The rest parts of Hubei have 10,967 confirmed cases on Feb 21, compared with the peak number of 13,886 on Feb 14, according to Mi.

Outside Hubei, the number of COVID-19 patients still hospitalized was 5,637 on Feb 21, dropping significantly from a peak of 9,141 on Feb 11, Mi said.

Only 31 new confirmed cases were reported outside Hubei on Feb 21, with all other provincial-level regions reporting less than 10 or zero new infections.

A total of 20,659 COVID-19 patients had been discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of Feb 21.